This is one of my favorite birds, the green heron, Butorides virescens. I've never been able to get pictures of one before. They are all the same bird. In the second one the feathers on its head are raised. In the third one I used the manual focus (I remembered how!), and the green spot is a leaf that is completely unfocused between me and the bird.
The green heron is small (for a heron) about 17 inches long, with a short neck. They are much more secretive than the great blues. They don't have long legs and don't stand in the water, but often perch on snags in the water. They are looking for fish and frogs to eat- same diet favorites as the other herons.
Tomorrow is a day for assignments- wonder what I'll find!
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11 comments:
That's pretty good. I've never seen one before. I thought I had one once, but it was a different kind of heron.
How big is he? Does he stand in the water too? And the big question.....what does he eat? I hope it isn't sweet little frogs and fish out of people's ponds. :)
The Green heron is one of my favorites too. Great sighting!
I was privileged to see a green heron in the wild. Once. Actually, the spouse spotted it first. The green spot makes yours unique, don't you think. ;-)
I'd never guess heron with that short neck. I'm guessing that it's a young one. R T Peterson's Eastern Birds seems to confirm that thought. I don't think I've seen one of these.
I've never seen one before. They don't look as big as the other herons I've seen pictures of
Ratty- any herons one sees are worth celebrating!
Lin- good questions. I edited and put the answers in the post
Eileen- They are just wonderful in the sunlight!
vanilla- they are more secretive than the great blues, so I"m always just thrilled when I see one.
Chuck- why do you think it's a juvenile?
Ann- they are much smaller- about 17 inches
You got great pictures of this heron. I so rarely see birds at all though we have white herons in areas around here, even at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. It is so nice to sight them there, against that very Grecian looking backdrop.
I think it's a juvenile because of the short neck. The Peterson's illustrations snow it that way.
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