Lens Artists Photo Challenge #395: Looking Back to #155 On the Water
Last week, I spent five days in the South Padre Island area with three friends who are photographers. Before reaching the island, I made a one-day stop at the National Butterfly Center (NBC). I saw several birds at NBC, and that turned out to be the perfect warm-up for what was waiting for me at South Padre Island.
On our first day on the island, we spent several hours at the SPI Birding and Nature Center. I had heard the area sat in the path of many migratory birds, but what I saw there far surpassed my expectations. There is no way to feature all of them here, so when Beth proposed revisiting the Lens-Artists Challenge #155: On the Water, I narrowed my focus to a single family of birds: herons. Here is a small sample of the wading birds I watched that week. Please visit Beth’s post to see her beautiful photos and other ways you can join the challenge.
The featured image is the well-known Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) — the largest heron in North America, standing 45–54 inches (114–137 cm) tall with a wingspan of 66–79 inches (168–201 cm). Despite all that, it weighs only 5–6 pounds (2.3–2.7 kg), thanks to its hollow bones. It is also a true generalist that will eat almost anything within striking distance: fish, frogs, snakes, gophers, and even other birds. And here is a fun one — Great Blue Herons can hunt day and night, because their eyes have a high percentage of rod-type photoreceptors that give them excellent low-light vision. Watch one take off, and you will notice it tucks that long neck into a tight “S” shape — one of the easiest ways to tell a heron from an egret in flight.
The next heron I saw — and that one was a lifer for me — was a Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor). It is smaller and far more elegant than the Great Blue, standing about 24–26 inches (60–66 cm) tall with a 36–39-inch (95–100 cm) wingspan, and weighing well under a pound (300–400 g). The bright white belly and the white stripe down the front of its sinuous neck set it apart from any other dark heron. Tricolored Herons are wonderful to watch: instead of standing still, they run, twirl, and pirouette through the shallows with their wings half-spread — almost like a dancer chasing fish. Mine was foraging along a mangrove edge in the early-morning light.
Both the Great Blue and this next one — the Green Heron (Butorides virescens) — I often see in the pond behind our house. At about 18 inches (45 cm) long, it is roughly a third of the size of its Great Blue cousin. Hunched and compact, with a deep forest-green back and a chestnut neck, it is easy to miss until it strikes. Here is the wild part: the Green Heron is one of the very few tool-using birds in the world. It will drop a twig, a feather, or even an insect onto the water as bait and wait for a curious fish to come investigate. Patience and ingenuity in one small package!
The last one I will share is, for me, the most elusive: the Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea). Adults wear an unmistakable dark slaty-blue body with a deep purple-maroon head and neck. They are medium-sized — about 22–29 inches (56–74 cm) long, with a 39–43 inch (100–110 cm) wingspan, weighing 12–15 ounces (330–410 g) — and they hunt very differently from the Tricolored. Standing still and watching, they pick their moment with quiet, methodical patience. One of the strangest facts about them: juveniles are entirely white. That white plumage seems to give the young birds a real advantage — Snowy Egrets are more willing to tolerate them in mixed flocks, and the youngsters end up catching more fish in the egrets’ company.
Visiting the SPI Birding and Nature Center was an unforgettable experience. We saw so many different species, some of which I had never seen before. I’ll continue to feature some of my findings in future posts.
I think you enjoyed John’s History Through the Lens challenge last week. There were so many beautiful photos. I hope you will join this week’s challenge, too. Please don’t forget to use the “lens-artists” hashtag in your posts to help people find your wonderful challenge entries.
Next week, Ann-Christine will feature a new challenge. It will go live at noon EST in the USA. Tune in to find out more about the challenge then. Please see this page for more information about the Lens-Artists Challenge and its history. If you don’t want to miss any future challenges, please consider subscribing to the team members’ websites. Here they are:
- Tina of Travels and Trifles.
- Patti of P.A. Moed.
- Ann-Christine of Leya.
- John of Journeys with Johnbo.
- Anne of Slow Shutter Speed.
- Sofia of Photographias.
- Egídio of Through Brazilian Eyes.
- Ritva of Ritva Sillanmäki Photography.
- Beth of Wandering Dawgs.
That is the story behind the shots. If you liked this post, you may also be interested in others featuring Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Lens-Artists, Little Blue Heron, Parks, South Padre Island, SPI Birding and Nature Center, Texas, Tricolored Heron, and Wildlife. Until the next time, keep clicking and capturing the beauty your eyes find.
Sources
• Great Blue Heron — Cornell Lab, All About Birds —
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/
• Great Blue Heron Life History — Cornell Lab, All About Birds —
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/lifehistory
• Tricolored Heron — Cornell Lab, All About Birds —
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tricolored_Heron/
• Tricolored Heron — Audubon Field Guide —
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/tricolored-heron
• Green Heron — Cornell Lab, All About Birds —
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Green_Heron/
• The Clever Way Green Herons Lure Prey — Audubon —
https://www.audubon.org/news/the-clever-way-green-herons-lure-prey
• Little Blue Heron — Cornell Lab, All About Birds —
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Little_Blue_Heron/
• Little Blue Heron Life History — Cornell Lab, All About Birds —
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Little_Blue_Heron/lifehistory
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Vicki
Those herons are absolutely gorgeous and great photos. I noticed you had a juvenile or at least a teenager. Sounds like a great 3 days.
Those pink legs and back feathers are quite striking.
Anne Sandler
What beautiful photos Egidio. I’ve never seen a tri-colored heron here in Northern California.
Liliane Habakwizera
What a captivating story and very gorgeous photographs you shared, Egidio. It was one of those you want to keep reading while uncovering those amazing varied creatures that are Herons birds’ family. I liked discovering how different kinds of herons, differ in features, sizes, shapes and ways they hunt for food (e.g., fishes). I wonder if they can be found anywhere else or locally in North America. Once again, thank you very much for the great story you shared. It was worthy reading.
Egidio Leitao
Liliane, many thanks for your positive feedback. I’m glad you liked the post and photos. As for where those herons can be found, you might refer to the links at the bottom of the post. Often, the site AllAboutBirds will show a map of their locations.
Tina Schell
A marvelous review of some beautiful winged creatures Egidio! Looks like you had a VERY positive visit! Did you have a great zoom lens or were they accustomed to visitors??
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Tina. It was a long drive, but the findings were great as well as the company. The birds were used to humans. We even saw a Least Bittern very close by. My friend said those are not common in the nature center area.