Bay Photos by Donna

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.  🙂