Little Blue Herons
Hello! My oh my, where has the time gone? Since my last post, we returned home for the Thanksgiving holiday, and there’s been so much to do, I haven’t had any time to blog nor read blogs. A new laptop was waiting for my return (yay!), but the transfer and incompatibility with some of my old programs has caused major headaches and lots of down time. Ugh.
So, finally, I think I’m back up and running for the most part. I hope everyone is continuing to do well during these still difficult times. To stay safe, we ended up canceling our big Thanksgiving family dinner and opted for a quiet one.
I didn’t have a chance to do any birding since arriving home, so I’m going to continue to share photos from last month in Florida.
These are Little Blue Herons. As an adult, they are a dark slate-blue with a purple/maroon head. However, as a juvenile, they are entirely white. They transform during their immature molting stage looking like a patchwork of white and blue. Little Blue Herons are excellent stalkers!
Little Blue Heron (immature in beginning stages of molting)
Little Blue Heron (juvenile)
Little Blue Heron (adult)
Little Blue Heron (adult)
Little Blue Heron (adult)
Little Blue Heron (adult)
Little Blue Heron (adult)
Little Blue Heron (juvenile)
Beautiful!!!
Thank you, Lisa!
Hi Donna, I’m glad you guys are home safely. Probably a good idea to have canceled the holiday plans, but so sad, isn’t it? I wonder how this bird can look so identical to its larger brethren yet be smaller?
Thank you, John!! You’re right, what a year. So many sad things. I feel for the children especially. My 3 and 4 year old grandsons really are at lost on what is going on and why can’t we get together. Thank goodness for today’s technology and video chats! 🙂
Lovely shots of a beautiful bird Donna.
Thank you, Ashley!
Sounds like Covid and a new computer threw monkey wrenches into your holidays… Hope you enjoy your wonderful pictures,..Stay safe and be well!.
Thank you, Carol! You and Art stay safe and well too through these trying times!
I was wondering where you got off to. Technology can make you curse. So can Covid…
For sure…… 😧
Lovely shots Donna.
Nice to see you back, modern tech is just a pain but should be easier shouldn’t it?
This covid is really messing up our lives in more ways than one, hopefully these vaccines will get it under control so we can go back to a close to normal life.
Thank you, Brian! Yes!! Now, if I were only tech savvy, it’d probably have gone much smoother, lol. I was still on Windows7 and other software from 2015. Windows10 and Office 365 are not so forgiving on upgrading from older versions. If it weren’t for my son via phone, I’d still be having problems for sure. 🥴 Covid can kiss my you-know-what! I’m praying these vaccines do get us back to a more normal life too. 🙏
Amazing pictures! c
Congratulations on your new acquisition, Donna!
Thank you, Indira!!
Gorgeous!
Thank you!
How wonderful to see them at different stages of their life. They’re lovely!
Thank you, Deborah! I wish I had one of an immature that is heavily patchworked blue and white, they are really beautiful then too!
Good to see all is well.
👍 Thanks Ted!
Never worry about time passing Donna.
All of us share many of the same issues.
We love your incredible photos!
Arms around you and your family
this Holiday and always dear friend. Eddie
Thank you so much, Eddie, for your kind words and wishes! May you and your family have a blessed Holiday season as well!
Interesting information. Thanks for sharing. So, where is ‘home’ these days?
Thanks, Ingrid! Home is still Maryland. 🙂
Welcome back, Donna! Changing laptops can be traumatic but I’m glad you got it all sorted out. (Last time I went through it was in 2015…) The little blue herons are so pretty and it was interesting to see the difference between the juveniles and the adults. I love the look in that eye in the sixth picture. 🙂
Thank you, Barbara! Traumatic to tears a couple times, lol. (I can laugh now!) Mine was 2013, with a couple 2015 software upgrades. None of them liked WIndows10. I’m still on the old laptop with one program for our commercial business, still trying to make it work and not have to buy into a yearly subscription many of these are demanding anymore.
The Little Blues are so pretty, but I find the adults to be difficult to photograph with their dark colors, it is indeed all about lighting with them. I was tickled this adult walked by me while I sat in my golf cart. Especially with throwing those eyes at me! 😉
Very nice series of images Donna! One of my favorite birds to photograph! It is a pain to get a new laptop or computer up & running. Especially if you have some special software that does not seem to load correctly,
Thank you, Reed! I’ve felt lots of pain, lol. Been using 2013 and 2015 software, and WIndows10 doesn’t like any of them. Still one special software (business) that isn’t working. I’ve got one more thing to try to see if I can work around WIndows10, but I’m not too optimistic. Ugh….
Nice to see you back Donna! Interesting to see the herons as they mature, great shots!
Thank you very much, Belinda!
I like those guys, every time I go to FL I see them! Great shots my friend. 🙂
Thank you, HJ! They are pretty and fun to watch as they stalk their prey. 🙂
I am sorry about your curtailed Thanksgiving but it was probably the right thing to do. I am thinking about a new laptop but thinking about the problems of getting everything across keeps making me put it off. Lovely pictures.
It was the right thing to do. We’ve now decided to call off Christmas and will do it with videos. It’s good to know that Santa can still make it to the grandboys. I’ve been wanting a laptop for a couple years but kept putting it off too, worrying with all the transferring. I couldn’t have done it without my son’s directions.
It is good to have a competent child to hand when you need one.
👍
Such a lovely change. Beautiful white or blue! Great photos, Donna!
Thank you very much! When they’re heavily patched with white and blue, they are stunning too!
Such a pretty bird – wonderful captures, Donna.
Glad you are staying safe at home – take care!
Thank you, Eliza! Stay safe too, especially with the gusty snow storm forecasted. How many inches are you to possibly get?
They are predicting 3-6″ but with the wind, drifting may make deeper pockets. Brrr, glad I have a wood stove!
When you know you are safe and warm, snow is so beautiful to watch fall. 🙂
These are beautiful shots!
Thank you very much!
Glad your new computer is up and running. Your pics are as beautiful as ever. 😊
Thank you, Irene! Re the computer, me too, it wasn’t so fun at the start, but now I’m liking it more and more! 🙂
Welcome back Donna! I wondered where you had been. There’s nothing like having to set up a new computer system to slow things down and create glitches. I’m glad you survived all of that. I love your little blue heron photos. I rarely see any here on Kent Island.
Thank you, Susan! Yes, the LBHs are very secretive around the Chesapeake Bay. If/when Poplar Island allows birding tours again, they had a colony developing there of LBHs. Which is awesome for nearby BNWR and Kent Island for expansion!