COLLEY TOWNSHIP -- A rare bird in Pennsylvania is back in the wild after being injured two months ago.
It's called the American Bittern. It was nursed back to health and released Tuesday in Sullivan County at one of only a half dozen known nesting spots for that bird in the state.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission delivered the rehabilitated American Bittern to his new home: Splash Dam Pond on state game lands in Sullivan County.
"It's very exciting. It's an endangered bird in Pennsylvania, the American Bittern, so every bittern counts," said endangered bird expert Doug Gross.
When conservation officers opened the box, the bittern hopped right out and first did what American Bitterns do: froze, attempting to match its surroundings before heading off into the weeds.
It was in those wetland weeds the bittern showed why it's so hard to see in Pennsylvania, and not just because they are rare.
They, in effect, disappear.
"You saw when the bird was released, it blended into the grass here and literally that bird was seven feet in front of us and it was camouflaged so well you could hardly see it," said game commission official Bill Williams.
People at nearby Ricketts Glen State Park saw the release, then struggled to spot the bird. It is in there, you just can't see it.
"It was amazing, wasn't it? It just blended in so well," said Caroline Yockavitch.
The game commission will be coming back to check on it. They may not be able to see it. Instead, they'll listen for it.
The Carbon County Environmental Education Center treated an injured wing. A man found it hurt in Bloomsburg in March.
Now it's in one of only six or so wetlands in the state bitterns are known to nest.
"I think it's fun getting to see this bird, getting to see it go back into the wild," said Levi Stone.
"We'll try to keep an eye on it, but as you can see, it's hard to keep an eye on a bittern. We hope we can find him again and that he does well here," said Gross.
