ML622797031

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Continuing immature discovered by Nathan F (8/16), re-found earlier this morning by Calvin B, directed to me by others and scoped by Nathan F himself and Sara M. Thank you, all!! :)) Medium-sized Heron with a slender physique; bluish-gray upper parts; white underparts and rump which was prominent in flight; reddish neck and wings; white underwing feathers; long, slender neck with a white stripe from its chin down to its underparts; long bill which was lighter at the base and darkens at the tip; long yellow-green legs; similar in size to the nearby Little Blue Heron and distinguishable with its white underbelly and lighter face; significantly smaller than the Great Blue Herons. 0901 to 1053 – seen with many others as it remained hiding in the tall grasses of a large mudflat, periodically popping its head up to observe its surroundings. Loosely associated and foraged with the immature, splotchy Little Blue Heron, which was relatively the same size. Once the water rose, the nearby mix of herons and egrets would crowd together, forcing the Tricolored (TRHE) to move out of its hiding place, conveniently flushing him out in the open to forage along the water’s edge. Observed preening, slowly foraging like the Little Blues vs the spastic foragers of the Reddish and Snowy Egrets, and flying to various mudflats to avoid the larger flocks of birds like the Terns. In one instance, a human (non-birder) was fairly close as he stood on the mudflat, observing the TRHE in the grass. Interestingly enough, the TRHE remained still and stared back at him. Once the human walked away, the TRHE continued to forage, moving away from where the human was standing. Last seen flying further west onto the next mudflat to avoid the influx of other birds.

Technical information

Model

DSC-RX10M4

ISO

100

Flash

Flash did not fire

Dimensions

1799 pixels x 1493 pixels

Original file size

692.23 KB