A pair of juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Herons had staked out one of the trunks along an old rice field dike to catch the early morning sun.
The dike is too narrow to sneak by; the one on the left flew off down the canal as I approached. This one followed soon after.
Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, SC
July 4, 2021
Disrupted from his hunting spot this Black-crowned Night-heron took a flight out over the pond.
This was about a half hour after sunrise, with a golden glow on the heron and the pond.
He opted to land in the “spoonie” tree, so named by photographers because the Roseate Spoonbills like to congregate there.
On this morning a single Anhinga was defending his spot.
It was unusual to see a Black-crowned Night-heron out in the open like this. They usually are in a tree or hidden by undergrowth, especially if they aren’t actively feeding.
He’s standing on the interior of a pond that just two days before was under water on a high point that made an island. The pond is being drained, likely to control the growth of this grass would eventually choke the pond.
When I passed by a second time it had started to sprinkle.
The heron didn’t seem interested in feeding or taking cover from the rain, and strolled along the edge,
Surveying his realm, this single Black-crowned Night-Heron was on a small island in what was an active Little Blue Heron rookery last year. This year he seems to be the only wading bird using it.
Shortly after I took this picture he dropped down into the center of the island out of sight, presumably to a nest.
Back and forth from the rookery island to the shore of the pond this Black-crowned Night-Heron diligently brought sticks for his nest.
Once in the shrubs he took his time, with a lot of inspecting going on before the actual stick selection.
Sometimes the selection was a live branch, snapped off with that powerful beak. This one was substantially sized, complete with green leaves for padding.
I’ve seen a Black-crowned Night-Heron on this stretch of bank where some trees have fallen into the pond the past few times I’ve been there. It may be the cover of the limbs that attracts them, although they are exposed to the walking path on the inside.
I was hoping he would do some fishing, but he just looked around. I did get a full side view that shows off his beautiful color scheme, and that red eye!
He eventually flew off but either he or another one returned less then ten minutes later, this time taking a position in the late afternoon sun.
The juvenile Night-Herons were more active on this morning in the rookery than the snoozing adults.
A few of them were wandering around on these gnarly tree branches in the dappled sun.
A comparison of the juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron and juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron at All About Birds finds they are quite similar, with the Black-crowned variety having “larger spots and bolder streaks.” Hard to tell unless you have one of each side-by-side.
1/30/2018, St. Augustine Alligator Farm, St. Augustine, Florida.
Several Yellow-crowned Night-Herons were scattered around the rookery soaking up the morning sun. This one was tucked in the fronds of a palm tree showing off his blue/grey feathers..
The back of this rookery property has a double fence to contain the alligators and this Heron took his spot on the inner layer where the vines were still dormant in late January. The brown layer behind the bird is the second fence, also covered with brown vines.
Known for sleeping during the day, these Herons stayed put for the few hours I was in the area, despite the cacophony of the other birds sharing the rookery.
1/30/2018, St. Augustine Alligator Farm, St. Augustine, Florida.
Black-crowned Night-Herons are nesting in the grasses on one of the high spots in an old rice field. I could spot ten or so standing tucked in under the grass, too far for a good photograph.
This fellow was all by himself out in the open, perched on the support of one of the “trunks” used to regulate water flow. I was surprised he didn’t fly off as I passed by.
I came back this way about an hour later and he hadn’t moved very far, but had turned enough that I could get a good look through the grass on the bank at his colorful eye.
A couple more steps and his full body was in view, if not well lit. I walked on a little further hoping to get a shot from where I first spotted him, turned around, but he was gone.
While I was watching Spoonbills in the pond in front of me this fellow banked around me and came in for a landing, taking up a spot in a beat up tree behind me.
Not surprisingly the Night-Herons like darker, secluded spots when they are out in the day time.
He shifted around a bit before settling into a one-legged pose. I saw a juvenile fly in behind the adult but never did spot him in this grove.
