A Black-crowned Night Heron in the Morning
With a cup of coffee alongside my camera, the quiet early mornings are a favorite time on my balcony, watching the antics of Osprey Bella & Beau and their chicks as they start their day, while the creek itself begins to awaken with activity. You know me, I also keep a keen eye open, never knowing what else might appear.
Black-crowned Night Heron (adult)
On one of those cloudy mornings a couple weeks ago, I was pleased with an appearance by a Black-crowned Night Heron walking along the dock, stalking the waters that were well below.
Black-crowned Night Heron (adult)
True to its name, the Black-crowned Night Heron normally feeds between evening and early morning.
Black-crowned Night Heron (adult)
I wasn’t sure how the Black-crowned Night Heron thought he was going to reach the water if he did see something to snatch, so I stayed with the him to see what would happen.
Nothing happened, of course. After a few more minutes, he suddenly took flight.
Black-crowned Night Heron in flight
Black-crowned Night Heron in flight
Black-crowned Night Heron in flight
This time he was smart. The Black-crowned Night Heron landed underneath another dock where fishing opportunities had to be much better than on top.
I could no longer see him but I wished him success!
Don’t they look like they’re deep into thoughts all the time? Great shots Donna! 🙂
They certainly do, lol, thanks HJ! 🙂
Great to see him like this in this environment. You got good flight captures, too, not easy when you are taking still photos to begin with.
Thank you, Jane! I get torn between using my tripod that has a Wimberley head versus hand-hold because flights can occur so suddenly in any direction. I like to move on my feet to try to stay with the flight! lol But then in this instance, my tripod probably would have worked better since the flight went straight out in front of me. Birds are so unpredictable, that’s what makes them fun to photograph! 🙂
I wish my balcony provided the same view😊 very nice!
We love it for all that it offers, including watching the watermen and other boats come and go (my husband on the boats more than me, ha)…..but unfortunately we are renting this gorgeous condo & view, and I am going to super miss it when we move on. 😦
It has an air of a bird wishing that it was somewhere else.
It does seem so!
Lovely sightings, and in flight images! I hope he was successful too.
Thank you, Deborah! He must have been, he was back this morning on another dock. 🙂
Oh that is promising…you might be on the balcony having your morning coffee with your camera at hand when he catches a lovely fish for breakfast! Of course I hope it’s a fish that very plentiful!
Beautiful clear pics of your little Black-crowned Night Heron, Donna with excellent flight shots also.
Thank you, Ashley, I enjoyed his surprise appearance. This morning he was fishing again below the dock. I’m thinking he’s probably been out there many times and I didn’t even know it! So much for that keen eye of mine, lol. 😉
Great pics, Donna! 🙂 I saw a similar bird around here the other day, but it was far across the pond and my macro lens was incapable of reaching it. 🙂
Thank you, Tom! If I recall correctly, this is only the third time I’ve got a photo op chance with the BC Night Heron. I was super happy with his appearance so close!
Great photos of the night heron, I’d love to see one myself some day. They look much more friendly than their cousins, the great blue herons.
Thank you, Jerry! They sure are stocky, I always think of them as a little old man wearing a toupee, lol. Yes, I think they’d be much nicer than the GBH with that dagger beak!
Great shots Donna! It’s obvious that you always have your eye open to all interesting ‘visitors’, and you are richly rewarded, and we get the benefit of it. Thank you!
Thank you, Susan! It is a lot of fun, it’s like when you get to hang around your dock for a while, ‘someone’ will appear! 🙂
I have been watching the night herons for a number of years outside my window in Florida. They sit atop the sea wall at night with the water at times far below. I think when they spot a small fish near the surface they actually dive in the water to get the prey. I rarely see them fishing along the shore line. They always return to land to eat their catch. It is hard to see the activity because it is always at night. With that short neck, diving is probably their only choice. ha ha
How interesting is that! I wondered if he could go into the deep water. That neck can stretch but not very long! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Wonderful! You have really been working it … always having something new and interesting to share with us!
Thank you, Denise! 🙂
Really great shooting here! I finally saw my first one down by the creek about a week ago. Pity it was getting rather dark and quite a distance away. Not the best shot. Certainly not nearly as great as yours, but the whole point seems to be to keep trying. I’d love to have that perch you have there. It certainly gets some exciting action! I’d take that over living in a big tin box any day!
Thank you Gunta! They sure look bored at times, don’t they?! I’m still seeing this fella in the mornings, heck, he’s probably been here for weeks and I didn’t know it, lol. My perch is nice, but there’s that longing still to want to explore our country. We will see! 🙂