 Breeding evidence |
 Relative abundance |
 Probability of observation |
Click for a larger version or to add map overlays |
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Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
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Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
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-1.65 (-2.9 - -0.493)|
Mean abundance (number of birds detected per 5 min. point count) and percentage of squares occupied by region Bird Conservation Regions [abund. plot]
[%squares plot]
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Atlas Results
Atlas results coming soon
Note: During all years of the Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Atlas drought conditions persisted and the Atlas range maps for all waterfowl, waterbirds, and wetland-associated species should be viewed as characteristic of distribution and abundance during dry conditions. Read the full drought statement here.
Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:
The American Bittern is best known for its call, a booming "plunk-a-lunk" emanating from the marsh and carrying far on a calm spring or summer evening. Solitary and secretive by nature, this bird spends much of its time in thick reeds and cattails. If surprised, it will point its bill skyward, face the intruder, and even sway in the breeze to mimic rustling reeds. As its name suggests, this is a New World bird, breeding from southeastern Alaska and Newfoundland south to central Mexico; it winters from east-central British Columbia and southern New England south to Panama and the Greater Antilles (AOU 1998).
The species depends on a variety of wetland habitats, including bulrushes, cattails, tall coarse grasses, and sedges in shallow wetlands. Rarely, upland pastures and fields may be included.
Uncommon and local summer resident, formerly common. Populations have decreased substantially in the century since Bent's visits in 1905 and 1906. At Yorkton there was a noticeable decline after the drought of the 1930s, a population increase during the wetter late 1940s and 1950s, and another downturn in the late 1970s into the 1980s (Houston and Anaka 2003). In the Qu'Appelle Valley a pronounced progressive decrease in numbers began in the early 1960s (Callin 1980).
Original text by Philip S. Taylor. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the American Bittern in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. American Bittern in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=AMBI&lang=en [09 Nov 2025]
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