Herons

Herons
(Night Herons, Green Heron and Tricolored Heron)

The Herons page contains 70 images and composites of Black-Crowned Night Herons,
Yellow-Crowned Night Herons, Green Herons and Tricolored Herons, and includes one
unusual Tricolored Heron who seemed to have fallen in love with my camera lens. This
page also includes several unusual images of Black-Crowned Night Herons in flight.

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Birds Collections:          Egrets & Herons

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Black-Crowned Night Heron

The most widespread heron in the world, the Black-Crowned Night Heron is a stocky
fellow with a short neck and legs that feeds mostly at night (thus the name), in areas that
are hunted by other herons and egrets during the day. They can take some amazingly large
fish for their size. They have bright red eyes as adults (the juveniles have amber eyes that turn
red before they become adults). Adults have black crowns and backs with white faces and
breasts, and the juveniles are streaked brown and grayish-white all over their bodies.

BCN_Heron_AlphaMale_4859


Black-Crowned Night Heron Alpha Male 4859

This fellow seemed to be the King Heron at the LA Arboretum,
and had a radically different appearance from that of the other Herons,
with a longer head and a deeper crest than his colleagues shown below.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron 0851-0833 M

Two Black-Crowned Night Herons from the LA Arboretum.
Notice the differently shaped head feathers and the shallower
beard and cheek ruffs. The shape of the birds above is commonly
seen amongst the BCN Herons... the Alpha male was a rare individual.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron 0875

My favorite portrait of a Black-Crowned Night Heron, watching
over Baldwin Lake at the LA Arboretum from a shaded rock.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron HS3722

They often stand in ambush at the edge of streams or ponds,
watching for a fish or insect to come close. They usually hunt at night.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron X8443

A Black-Crowned Night Heron perches on a branch in front of a dark background (a difficult exposure).

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Black-Crowned Night Heron X8409

A Black-Crowned Night Heron in what many photographers call a “bird on a stick” shot.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Juvenile Flight X5667

A juvenile takes flight in the waning light after sunset.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron X8281

An adult perched on a log watches the day go by.

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Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)

Birds Collections:          Egrets & Herons

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BCNheronJuv_1116


Black-Crowned Night Heron Juvenile 1116

The typical streaked plumage of the juvenile.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Juvenile 1119

The wind gave him an astonished look.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Juvenile 1109

It was quite likely the very first big lens he had ever encountered.
The front element of the 300mm f/2.8 is about the size of a bread plate.
I am sure it looked pretty spectacular to this little guy from about 8 feet away.

This juvenile Black-Crowned Night Heron is getting ready to molt into adult plumage. Note the red eyes.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Juvenile HS0379

This is a younger juvenile (note the amber eyes). He stands out
against the background, which has been completely defocused.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Juvenile 0806

I almost never use a flash for nature shots, but this guy
was standing in deep shadow. It was either flash or no shot.
This is another juvenile who is preparing to molt into adult plumage.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Juvenile 0758

A beautiful scene of a late juvenile growing his first mating plumes.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Juvenile HS0386

A landscape close-portrait of the younger juvenile shown earlier.

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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.

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Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)

Birds Collections:          Egrets & Herons

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Black-Crowned Night Heron 0833, 0872 M

An adult with mating plume stands watch over Baldwin Lake.
On the right, an unusual shot of a Night Heron swimming during the day.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Swimming 0845

In my experience, it is rare to see them swimming in the middle of the day.
They most often are roosting or are perched near the edge of the water.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron HS0856

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Black-Crowned Night Heron HS0852

A perched adult Black-Crowned Night Heron. I love the comical look of long-beaked birds head-on.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron X1569

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Black-Crowned Night Heron X1572

A Black-Crowned Night Heron poses for front and back views in front of the reeds beside
the pond at Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge, one of the rare opportunities for a close portrait there.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron 4778

A Black-Crowned Night Heron scans for prey at Baldwin Lake in November.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron HS0690

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Juvenile 0791

Portraits of a Black-Crowned Night Heron adult (left) and a late juvenile (at right, note the red eyes).

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Black-Crowned Night Heron X8410c

The linked image is a tight detail crop to show eye, bill and feather detail of an adult BCN Heron.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron X8416 0839

A frontal portrait and a “bird on a stick” shot of adult Black-Crowned Night Herons.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Portrait X8142

A detail crop of a Black-Crowned Night Heron portrait.
(the original image shows the bird from the center wing up)

There are two versions of the original image available:
a 4:5 aspect ratio XL head and chest portrait crop,
and the original 3:2 ratio SXL landscape image.

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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.

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Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)

Birds Collections:          Egrets & Herons

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Landing on Mallard X0177

In my experience it is rare to see Black-Crowned Night Herons in flight.
This one seems to be landing on top of a Mallard (don’t worry... it missed).

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BCN Heron  Landing on Mallard X0178

The Heron landed between the Mallard and the bank.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Flight 1145

A rare BCN Heron flight shot from almost directly below.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Flight X0126

A Black-Crowned Night Heron in flight, taken from the same level as the bird.
A BCN Heron flight shot from this angle is absolutely unique in my experience.
Note how the Heron has its neck retracted to create an aerodynamic shape.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Sunset Flight HS6924

A head-on flight shot of a Black-Crowned Night Heron at sunset, taken at Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge.
Night Herons fly rapidly, and getting a head-on flight shot is every bit as difficult as it is with Cormorants.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Sunset Flight HS6925

As previously mentioned, it is quite rare to see a Black-Crowned Night Heron in daylight flight.
The two images above and several images below show a Night Heron in flight at sunset, taken at
Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge in January, just as the lowering sun was settling down on the horizon.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Sunset Flight HS6936

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Sunset Flight HS6937

The two images above and the two below are from Flight Study composites which were taken 10 minutes apart.
The consecutive images above were taken with the sun just above the horizon. 1/8 second separates the images.
The two below are the first and last images in Flight Study 2 (XL), taken 0.4 sec. apart with the sun on the horizon.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Sunset Flight HS7125

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Sunset Flight HS7128

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Sunset Flight Study XL

A 2000 x 570 version of the XL Flight Study Composite (5000 x 1325) showing
a Black-Crowned Night Heron in flight at sunset over Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge.

This flight study composite shows four different wing positions, taken as the
long rays of the lowering sun painted the Heron in a beautiful reddish-gold light.
There is also a six image, SXL version of this flight study available (7500 x 1725).

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Sunset Flight Study 2 XL

A 2000 x 570 version of the XL Flight Study 2 Composite (5000 x 1325) showing
the Black-Crowned Night Heron in flight at sunset over Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge.

The images for this composite were taken 10 minutes later, with the sun on the horizon.
Due to the lower light, I pushed the exposure to bring out wing detail, thus the lighter sky.

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Sunset Flight Study 2 XXL

A 3000 x 630 version of the XXL Flight Study Composite (10000 x 1925) showing
the Black-Crowned Night Heron in flight at sunset over Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge.

Considering how unusual it is to see a Black-Crowned Night Heron in flight during the day, those
of us who witnessed this looked at each other in awe, realizing we had seen something special.

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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.

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Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)

Birds Collections:          Egrets & Herons

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Yellow-Crowned Night Heron

Similar to the Black-Crowned Night Heron, but with a golden crown, a
white streak under the eye, black legs and a grayish-brown body. These
herons occupy warm coastal regions, mostly in the Southeastern US.
Some live in California, but I have only encountered them in Florida.

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Yellow-Crowned Night Heron 1565, 1575

A Yellow-Crowned Night Heron balances on a branch in the Mangrove swamp on Sanibel Island, Florida.
Right on cue, he bowed his head to show us his Yellow Crown so we would be aware of his exalted status.

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Yellow-Crowned Night Heron 1573

A Yellow-Crowned Night Heron balances on a branch in the Mangrove swamp on Sanibel Island.

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Yellow-Crowned Night Heron 2086

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Yellow-Crowned Night Heron 2118

A Yellow-Crowned Night Heron pacing beside a swamp on Sanibel Island, looking for bugs and fish at mid-day.

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Yellow-Crowned Night Heron 2099

A Yellow-Crowned Night Heron poses for a mid-day portrait, beside a swamp on Sanibel Island.
 

Green Heron

A small heron about the size of the Night Herons, the Green Heron occupies
much the same sort of niche, but is very skittish and hard to get close to without
quite a bit of stealth. They often keep their neck pulled in tight to their body, making
them look very stocky. They have a greenish-black crown, back and wings, a
chestnut brown breast with a white vertical stripe, and yellow eyes with
a white streak below the eyes and bill. A beautifully colored bird.

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Green Heron 0283

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Green Heron 0294

This fellow was so busy hunting in the marsh
at Balboa Lake that he didn’t notice my approach.

Normally, the Green Herons I have encountered are difficult to approach closely. They fly when you get anywhere inside about 100 feet, and since they are small, it is rare to get a good shot with fine detail. This was a rare close profile shot yielding the most detail of the Green Heron I have taken.

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Green Heron 1545

A Green Heron at Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge. This was taken at 500mm from across the pond, just before sunset.

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Green Heron Flight 1551

Taken a week later in Florida, this image shows what normally happens with “Greenies”. They fly the moment they see you.

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Green Heron 1615

This Green Heron was taken in the Mangrove swamp on Sanibel Island, Florida.
 

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Birds Collections:          Egrets & Herons

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Tricolored Heron

The Tricolored Heron is a bit larger than the Reddish Egret, and is resident
in the sub-tropical swamps of the Gulf States, Central and South America. It is
a bird which does not frequent the areas in which I normally shoot, so it is one
which I encountered only when shooting in Florida during a training session.

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Tricolored Heron 1628

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Tricolored Heron 1637

A Tricolored Heron stands on a bank formed of sediment and embedded shell, scanning the swamp for prey.

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Tricolored Heron 1643

Formerly called the Louisiana Heron, the Tricolored Heron is a bit under two feet tall.
Tricolors have a blue-gray neck, head, back and wings, a white stripe down the neck,
yellow lores and legs, and in breeding season the base of the neck and the back is a
reddish-purple. This bird has quite a lot of character, and I think that one fell in love
with my camera. You’ll see what I mean in a series of shots shown further below.

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Tricolored Heron 1634

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Tricolored Heron 1650

A Tricolored Heron stands on a bank formed of sediment and embedded shell, scanning the swamp for prey.
At right is a shot taken after the bird hopped on a promontory atop the bank for a better look at the swamp.
It offers an excellent view of the reddish-purple plumes adorning the back of this strikingly-colored bird.

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Tricolored Heron 0383

A Tricolored Heron stands atop a precarious perch, scanning for its next meal.

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Tricolored Heron 2131

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Tricolored Heron 1550

Three shots of Tricolored Herons walking through the swamp. The Heron shown above right is one which
seemed to be infatuated with my camera lens. Below is a more detailed shot of the bird shown above left.

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Tricolored Heron 2138

A Tricolored Heron struts across the swamp on Sanibel Island, Florida.

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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
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Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)

Birds Collections:          Egrets & Herons

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Tricolored_Heron_1533


Tricolored Heron 1533

The obligatory frontal portrait. I love this look...

I think that this bird was infatuated either with me or my long camera lens.
It performed a mating display. Below are a few of the images and a preview
of part of the sequence in a SXXL composite image. You’re going to enjoy this.

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Tricolored Heron 1534

The Tricolored Heron enters stage right, and begins his display.

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Tricolored Heron Display 1535

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Tricolored Heron Display 1537

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Tricolored Heron Display 1541

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Tricolored Heron Display 1542

The Heron paused in the middle of the display to give me his “cute” look.

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Tricolored Heron Display 1543

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Tricolored Heron Display 1548 M

Taa-Daaah!   This is the only time a bird has ever done a mating display specifically for me.

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Tricolored Heron Display SXXL

A 1200 x 1228 preview of the SXXL Composite (6130 x 6271)
which shows 12 of the images taken during the mating display.

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Tricolored Heron Flight 1599

A Tricolored Heron in flight from almost directly below. My only opportunity at a close flight shot of this bird.

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Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)

Birds Collections:          Egrets & Herons

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SnowyEgret


Click the Display Composite above to visit the Snowy Egret page

Egrets


Click the Display Composite above to visit the Great Egret, Cattle Egret and Reddish Egret page

BlueHerons


Click the Display Composite above to visit the Great Blue Heron and Little Blue Heron page

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Click the Display Composite above to return to the Egrets and Herons index page

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