Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Green Heron

 Juvenile Green Heron (Butorides virescens)

Green Herons have tons of personality so I love to watch and photograph them. This juvenile is hunting on plant material growing in shallow swamp water not far from where I was standing with my camera.

 Stretching its neck to see over some plants

It must have heard something because suddenly it stretched upward. Isn't it fascinating how different it looks from the first photo?

 Perching on a dry plant stalk

Then it quietly jumped up to get a better view. Notice how the feathers on its crown are raised. I think its looking a bit crazed!

e
Getting set to jump down to catch a small fish

Before  seeing this photo, would you have guessed its wings could reach out this far?

I am connecting to Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

56 comments:

Andy said...

I like your little photo story. That wing span is a surprise. Keep on clicking Camera Girl.

Revrunner said...

I agree. These creatures are fun to watch.

maryaustria said...

Fantastic captures! I love the last shot!

Stewart M said...

I like the way they seem to choose the worst places to stand!

Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

Judy said...

Great captures!!! I don't have a lens to get the birds, so I love seeing your close-ups!! There are green herons, as well as the great blues, in the river here.

Darla said...

Amazing. When the neck or the wings stretch it looke like an entirely different bird than when it is sitting.

Darla

MadSnapper said...

beautiful bird.. i like the crazy hair do and the spread wings... so pretty

The Cranky said...

He's so flexible, he could be made of rubber!

TexWisGirl said...

great shots! i can never get this close to them!

Shammickite said...

Really good photos of an elusive bird.

Small City Scenes said...

Great images. Interesting bird. I have only seen one and that was in Arizona. I think we have them here--just never seen one but I keep looking. ha! MB

Mersad said...

Amazing shots. Love the intense colors. The heron is a very strange yet beautiful bird.

Mersad
Mersad Donko Photography

William Kendall said...

Beautiful birds! I haven't seen one here, just the blue herons.

Anonymous said...

I love the youngsters!

Unknown said...

Hello
Great pictures of the heron. I love its long yellow legs
and its huge wingspan. Great photographed!

Hugs
JettMajken

Unknown said...

Really cool bird! So nice to see the action through your photos, I like the story!

//Scaniatjejen
http://www.scaniatjejen.se

Indrani said...

You captured him good. :)

21 Wits said...

What a cute green heron with the brightest yellow legs ever! Lemony should be his name!

cieldequimper said...

Your photos are simply amazing EG.

And the way it is gripping the straw to crane its neck is amazing too.

RedPat said...

They are actually a pretty tall bird when they stretch that neck out!

Ginny Hartzler said...

These pictures are awesome! I have looked and looked. And it looks like you have posted them in order, too! He is amazing looking, I have never seen a juvenile one. So at first I thought it might be a bittern.

Findlay Wilde said...

What brilliant pictures. It does look quite like a Bittern.

Lisa Gordon said...

The color of his eyes, match the color of his feet!
What a beautiful bird.

sunshine said...

Stunning series of photos and a beautiful bird.

Linda W. said...

Great photos! What a nice looking bird.

Unknown said...

Beautiful shots! The wing span is greater than one would think, but looking at the first shot one wouldn't thing it has much of a neck either.

Adam Jones said...

Fantastic pictures of the Heron. I do like the Green variety.

DeniseinVA said...

You took excellent photos of this handsome bird EG. I love looking at all the detail.

DeniseinVA said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
jp@A Green Ridge said...

Wings tucked and folded are always so deceiving...it always amazes me...great pix!!!!...:)JP

Our photos said...

Nice series !

Small City Scenes said...

Hope you had a nice holiday Monday.
MB

NatureFootstep said...

that is great shots of the green heron. :)

http://nfbird.blogspot.se/2014/09/brushane-philomachus-pugnax-ruff.html

Lois said...

Wow! That is a beautiful bird and it appears to be quite serious about getting that fish. Wonderful pictures!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful bird. Love his crest. This is a great series of photos showing the heron in action.

Lowell said...

I'm convinced! You are a bird whisperer! What a nice series of photos. I wonder if we have these down this away? Probably but I can't remember seeing any. (Memory is shot!)

Thanks for your comment - it's always a good time to land in Florida. Might be a hot time but that's OK. It's really hot in south Florida! Our nights are cooling a bit and that helps.

Traffic is picking up in Ocala so I'm thinking that a lot of Canadians are already heading this way in anticipation of winter! :)

Carver said...

Fantastic shots of the juvenile heron.

Randy said...

Looks like his eye on something.

Ruth Hiebert said...

Great captures.

Michelle said...

I too am a bit surprised by the wingspan.

Cloudia said...

Awesome! Make our white ones look boring!



ALOHA from Honolulu
ComfortSpiral
=^..^=

Jack said...

His neck and his wings have an uncanny ability to stretch out, don't they? I see green herons occasionally in Florida, but they are far less common where I live than their great blue cousins.

Susan said...

Great captures EG! Love the yellow eyes and feet. I agree he looks MUCH different when he is stretched out.

Stephanie said...

Awesome shots!

Breathtaking said...

Your pictures gave me a pretty good idea of how the green heron looks in different positions and situations. Great camera work.

Jenn Jilks said...

I love these birds. Nicely shot!

Anvilcloud said...

Nice series.

Roan said...

I think these birds always look a little crazed, but that perching shot really lets us see it.

Halcyon said...

I like his "mohawk" look. Perfect for a teenager!

Unknown said...

Fabulous captures!

A Colorful World said...

Really incredible shots! He's a beautiful young bird and has great balance! :-)

Rose said...

What wonderful photos! I very seldom see one around here.

Mary Howell Cromer said...

These are marvelous. I have some in draft to share in two weeks. I think they are great looking birds~

NatureFootstep said...

lol, I think it pretends to be a cormorant. :) Very nice images of behaviour.

Anonymous said...

great series of shots...I have never seen a green heron before

Anonymous said...

What a great series! Love seeing all the different looks of the bird.

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East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.