John Barkla recently circulated photos of the Australasian
Bittern from a Victorian site which I pass on with his permission. He
mentioned that these were ‘typical poses’ unlike his other shots of
the species ‘out in the open catching endangered Growling Grass
Frogs’. I hope Canberra birdwatchers are not going to be left
completely behind by Victorian bittern-spotters, and are making a serious
effort to find and report these birds.
According to Steve Wilson’s book there have been only 2
records of the species in the ACT, published in 1943 and 1946. According
to the Lintermans/Osborne book on freshwater animals of the Canberra area, the
Growling Grass Frog aka Southern Bell Frog has now disappeared from the
Southern Tablelands, along with the bitterns, it seems. In the L/O book
there is a splendid photo (page 202) by our own Peter Ormay of a Southern Bell
Frog, although the subject does seem to be under some kind of restraint around
the foot area, by something just outside the photo. While there is
probably a less interesting explanation, I prefer to believe that this
particular Growling Grass Frog is being gripped on the foot by an Australasian
Bittern, possibly the very last of the species in our area.
