What kind of bird is this?

On 2007-04-09 13:51:12 -0700, (Dr. Joel M. Hoffman) said:

A bit off topic, but I'll be grateful if someone can help me identify
the bird in the first shot on this page:

http://posted-online.com/NWC/

I think it's an Igret, but I'd like to know for sure. (It's hiding in
the bottom right-hand corner.)

Thanks.

-Joel

I also would say great blue heron. These are a large bird, about 46"
tall. The yellow bill and light colored neck distinguish it from the
much smaller little blue heron. It appears to be a young bird, still
with some immature plumage. The image is too small to accurately guess
the age. I can't see if it has the head plume yet.

Little blue herons have dark necks and look almost black from a
distance, although there is a much lighter calico phase. Great blues
also have a white phase, known as the great white heron or Florida
heron; also an intermediate phase called Wurdemann's heron. However,
this appears to be an immature great blue heron.

They are solitary birds, rather skittish, stalking or still-hunting in
marshes and beaches. They are very successful hunters. They seem to
take flight whenever I show up with a camera. There is one that hunts
every morning at sunrise on our beach, but I can't even approach the
window of the house without him taking off -- and he is usually 50
yards away. He will also depart if eagles, seals, or other large birds
show up. They just don't seem to like company.

--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

C J Campbell wrote:
On 2007-04-09 13:51:12 -0700, (Dr. Joel M. Hoffman) said:

A bit off topic, but I'll be grateful if someone can help me identify
the bird in the first shot on this page:

http://posted-online.com/NWC/

I think it's an Igret, but I'd like to know for sure. (It's hiding
in the bottom right-hand corner.)

Thanks.

-Joel

I also would say great blue heron. These are a large bird, about 46"
tall. The yellow bill and light colored neck distinguish it from the
much smaller little blue heron. It appears to be a young bird, still
with some immature plumage. The image is too small to accurately guess
the age. I can't see if it has the head plume yet.

Little blue herons have dark necks and look almost black from a
distance, although there is a much lighter calico phase. Great blues
also have a white phase, known as the great white heron or Florida
heron; also an intermediate phase called Wurdemann's heron. However,
this appears to be an immature great blue heron.

They are solitary birds, rather skittish, stalking or still-hunting in
marshes and beaches. They are very successful hunters. They seem to
take flight whenever I show up with a camera. There is one that hunts
every morning at sunrise on our beach, but I can't even approach the
window of the house without him taking off -- and he is usually 50
yards away. He will also depart if eagles, seals, or other large birds
show up. They just don't seem to like company.

And a voice that can break glass. They sure don't sound like they look.

Around my area many have become accustomed to having people close and
tend to allow people a lot closer. When rowing (a single sculling boat) I
often row slowly past maybe 10-15 feet away. They may watch me, but most
stay where they are. They often chose to fly past me no more than 8-10 feet
away from my head. Really neat birds. The fledglings we had a couple of
years ago did not seem to even notice humans. They hopped from boat to boat
with people carrying boats down and loading up on the dock. It took about a
week as I recall before they were all flying and were away from the nest.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

Ed Ruf (REPLY to E-MAIL IN SIG!) wrote:

Hmm, wasn't aware there is a Little Blue Heron, though I guess I should
have.

It's pretty specific to the southern US, while the Great Blue is
widespread across N. America (and possibly elsewhere).

A bit off topic, but I'll be grateful if someone can help me identify
the bird in the first shot on this page:

http://posted-online.com/NWC/

I think it's an Igret, but I'd like to know for sure. (It's hiding in
the bottom right-hand corner.)


More properly known as a Great Blue Heron, no?

We call them "muddy egrets" in these parts. Beautiful birds.

I like your parts - it means I got the name right!

-Joel

[

http://posted-online.com/NWC/

which shows, apparently, a Great Blue Heron. ]

FWIW, to me it doesn't look anything close to a GBH from what these sites
show:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAbou...lue_Heron.html
http://www.enature.com/flashcard/sho...dNumber=BD0111
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/pub/ifw...lue-heron.html
http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/littleblueheron.htm

Why do you think it isn't a GREAT Blue Heron when you are showing us
four different pictures of LITTLE Blue Herons? It is definitely a Great
Blue, a magnificent bird.


I think the point was that the Breat Blue Heron and the Little Blue
Heron dont' look at all alike.

-Joel

A bit off topic, but I'll be grateful if someone can help me identify
the bird in the first shot on this page:

http://posted-online.com/NWC/


That's Spike's cousin:
http://www.pbase.com/bret/image/68412685

Nice shot. But I have to say, in my ignorance about birds, that mine
looks grayer that the GBH.

-Joel

A bit off topic, but I'll be grateful if someone can help me identify
the bird in the first shot on this page:

http://posted-online.com/NWC/

I think it's an Igret, but I'd like to know for sure. (It's hiding in
the bottom right-hand corner.)

Thanks.

-Joel

I also would say great blue heron. These are a large bird, about 46"
tall. The yellow bill and light colored neck distinguish it from the
[...]


Thanks for your very detailed reply.

-Joel

Ed Ruf (REPLY to E-MAIL IN SIG!) wrote:
On Mon, 09 Apr 2007 20:22:51 -0500, in rec.photo.digital Allen
wrote:

Ed Ruf (REPLY to E-MAIL IN SIG!) wrote:
On Mon, 9 Apr 2007 19:57:10 -0400, in rec.photo.digital "Joseph Meehan"
wrote:


Yes and there is a Little Blue Heron as well, but that one looks like a
Great Blue.
FWIW, to me it doesn't look anything close to a GBH from what these sites
show:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAbou...lue_Heron.html
http://www.enature.com/flashcard/sho...dNumber=BD0111
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/pub/ifw...lue-heron.html
http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/littleblueheron.htm
Why do you think it isn't a GREAT Blue Heron when you are showing us
four different pictures of LITTLE Blue Herons? It is definitely a Great
Blue, a magnificent bird.

My mistake in reply , not ident. I have many photos of GBH's on my site and
am in fact processing a few as we speak. I quickly read Joseph's message
and misinterpreted as it as saying a LBH looks like a GBH. That is what I
replying to. And I do believe in fact my shots are of a Little Green, not
Blue Heron. It is quite difficult to tell the difference and I and several
folks from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science went around the ident
from these photos several times. If you can provide a reference to the
contrary, I would be interested.
We don't have Little Blues in my area (Austin TX), or at least I've
never seen one. We do have huge numbers of Greats, even in non-flowing
streams with a few puddles 5 or 6 inches deep during periods between
rains, right in the middle of town. We also have a smaller number of
Greens, which certainly look like your pictures--extensive brown on the
neck, shorter neck than Little Blues. I just pulled out a Peterson and
your birds look like his Greens, some adult, some immature. About Great
Blues: I will never forget an experience in West Texas 30 years ago; we
watched perhaps 75 Greats coming in to their roosting places on a lake
well after sunset, with only a dull glow left in the sky. There were no
obvious signs of civilization--no telephone or power lines, no
buildings, no vehicles; it felt eerily like pre-history, reminding of
the creation episode in Fantasia with The Rite of Spring . Great Blues
are among my favorite birds.

And--the pictures on your site are wonderful. How about sharing some
information about your tools and methods? I, and I'm sure many others,
would like to know. As I'm sure you know from experience, birds aren't
exactly the easiest things to photograph.

Allen

[re http://www.posted-online.com/NWC/ and
http://www.posted-online.com/ArizonaBirds/ ]

And--the pictures on your site are wonderful. How about sharing some
information about your tools and methods? I, and I'm sure many others,
would like to know. As I'm sure you know from experience, birds aren't
exactly the easiest things to photograph.

You're very kind. The pictures in Westchester are mostly a matter of
luck, I have to say. I usually have a Canon S70 with me, and when I
see animals --- which I love --- I generally set the camera to full
optical zoom and hope for the best.

One thing I will say is that my most important technique is patience.
I'll frequently sit watching an animal through the viewfinder for
10-15 minutes, waiting for the right shot.

And yes, I use the viewfinder, not the LCD.

The pictures from Arizona are much more dramatic, and they're the
result of a completely different technique. They were taken during a
live raptor show, with a Canon 30D. There I just took oodles of
pictures (3 and sometimes 5 per second), and chose the best ones.

-Joel

Joel M. Hoffman, PhD
http://www.lashon.net/JMH

On 2007-04-09 21:16:00 -0700, John Sheehy said:

(Dr. Joel M. Hoffman) wrote in news:4HxSh.25$XH5.13
@newsfe12.lga:

A bit off topic, but I'll be grateful if someone can help me identify
the bird in the first shot on this page:

http://posted-online.com/NWC/

I think it's an Igret, but I'd like to know for sure. (It's hiding in
the bottom right-hand corner.)

I don't know how they decide if a bird is called an egret or a heron;
it looks closely related to birds called egrets, but it's common name
is the "Great Blue Heron".


Egrets are white. Some heron species also have white phases or they are
white when immature, but in general herons are dark birds and egrets
are white. Sometimes the only way to tell the difference between an
egret and a white heron is by the color of the legs, bill and eyes.
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor