A few weeks ago I had an exciting surprise discovering a family of Black-crowned Night Herons within our community’s premises. Very exciting because they were also a new lifer for me. 🙂
Juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron
Momma on the ground, keeping an eye on Junior
I zoomed in for a close-up of Momma
Dad was positioned 6′ across the small inlet from Momma and Junior, also on watch
While zooming out on Dad, I spotted a third adult Black-crowned Night-Heron in the grass beyond him
Not one of the adults moved a muscle while I took a few photos. However, Junior seemed unfazed on his perch and continued to move around preening and stretching. I imagined the parents were a nervous wreck with all of Junior’s movement!
I moved my position and took one more photo of Momma with the setting sun reflecting on the water behind her
Boy, you can bet I was tickled with this photo opportunity!
I returned two evenings later about the same time to see if the family had returned. Sure enough, they had; but this time I found them perched within our marina, about 100′ from the previous evening’s water spot, just hanging out.
Momma and Junior Black-crowned Night-Herons
Dad across from them on a piling, again keeping a watchful eye on his family
I checked a couple more times but haven’t seen them since. I just love that ‘right time right place’ photo op happening!
As always, thank you for stopping by, I appreciate all your visits. 🙂