Tri-Colored Heron

[Every Miles A Memory]

I was working out in the back yard all day and just for this reason, I always keep a camera close and at the ready

This little Tri-Colored Heron was fishing in the shallows and I'm thinking because he was used to me being out there working, he wasnt even worried about my lens pointed at him

I'm not positive of this, but after awhile of watching him fish, I noticed that if the sun was at his back, he'd lift his wings like this to create a shadow. He'd then snap some fish out right where the wings would create the shadow. Sort of a neat thing to watch

And then my catch of the day. I was pretty excited to snag this shot. I love the intensity in his eyes and the fact that you can see his beak/bill under the water

 

[timh]

Those really are some great shots!

 

[haven]

Nice shots!

Florida and the Gulf Coast states are great for watching long-legged wading birds. There are more species here than any other USA location. Great Blue, Great White, Little Blue, Reddish and Tricolored Herons; Snowy and Great Egrets; Yellow Crowned and Black Crowned Night Herons; Glossy and White Ibis; Spoonbills; Wood Storks; Limpkins; and Clapper Rails can all be found in coastal waters and salt marshes. Move into nearby fresh water marshes to add King, Virginia, Yellow and Black (very secretive) Rails and Sora; American and Least Bitterns; Cattle Egret; and Green Heron.

Rapidly extending a wading bird's "S" shaped neck really packs a punch. I once saw a Great Blue Heron stab its beak right through the body of a large muskrat.

 

[Lost Canadian]

More really nice shots Pat. We have a few heron's around these parts but I can't seem to get within a quarter mile before they take off. This is about as close as I've been able to get and the only reason I probably caught this guy was because it was foggy and he didn't see me coming. As soon as he saw me though he booked it.

 

[Ursidae69]

Nice shots Pat, I love these birds. I got a few decent shots of a tri-colored heron at Santispac Beach in Baja Sur in February.

Click image for larger.

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

Great shots Trevor and Ursidae

I agree that the 'S' curve strike is a pretty powerful thing

Florida and the Gulf Coast states are great for watching long-legged wading birds. There are more species here than any other USA location. Great Blue, Great White, Little Blue, Reddish and Tricolored Herons; Snowy and Great Egrets; Yellow Crowned and Black Crowned Night Herons; Glossy and White Ibis; Spoonbills; Wood Storks; Limpkins; and Clapper Rails can all be found in coastal waters and salt marshes

That's funny because I was reading that like I was sitting out back on the dock naming each bird I've seen in the past few weeks. We have all of these and more within easy reach of the lens.

I've found that if I sit out there long enough, they ignore me and go about their fishing and I come in with shots like these I've posted

 

[Corey]

Very cool.
We have blue herons here where I work.
They hunt both fish in the two ponds around the walking trails, and they walk the path from time to time, my guess is they are hunting the snakes I see here.

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

Florida and the Gulf Coast states are great for watching long-legged wading birds. There are more species here than any other USA location. Great Blue, Great White, Little Blue, Reddish and Tricolored Herons; Snowy and Great Egrets; Yellow Crowned and Black Crowned Night Herons; Glossy and White Ibis; Spoonbills; Wood Storks; Limpkins; and Clapper Rails can all be found in coastal waters and salt marshes

So me and another guest are on the dock out back shooting the morning birding scene yesterday and your comment popped into my head during this scene

Two Snowy Egrets, a White Ibis and a Tri-Colored Heron all fishing in the same exact spot. They were actually getting frustrated with one another because they were all trying to go after the same fish.

Sort of funny to see them all darting around and flapping their wings trying their different techniques at feeding