This is Bird Note.

You're listening to one of the most peculiar and memorable of all North American bird voices.

This bird's deep, resonant calls have earned it nicknames like the Thunder Pumper and the steak driver.

It's an American Bidern. This tall,

slender member of the Heron family is incredibly well camouflaged with beige and brown vertical stripes. And when it stretches its neck and points its beak toward the sky, it blends in with

the dense marshes,

or it spends most of its time. In the Old Testament, bitterns were associated with evil and

desolation, perhaps because their eerie calls reminded people of the dank bogs. But we now know

wetlands are places of incredible diversity and filled with life.

Bittern's nest in wetlands throughout much of Canada, and they winter along both U.S.

coasts south into Central America. But in some places, Bitterns are in serious trouble.

Much of the shallow marshland they rely on has been drained for development, or polluted with

chemicals and silt. Expansive and healthy freshwater marshes are crucial to the Bidern's continued

welfare, and to a natural world that includes their remarkable voices.

For Bird Note, I'm Michael Stein.

Bird Note is supported by the Lenore Hanauer Foundation of Seattle.