...part 2 of the hungry little Green Heron

Part 2: I had so many cool photos of this juvenile Green Heron, I had to break the post into two installments (click here for part one). The video at the end shows him catching another fish and licking his chops again...

Head-on shot of a juvenile Green Heron. 

The Green Heron hears my camera shutter and gives me the stink eye!

Juvenile Green Heron Fishing from Kelly Riccetti on Vimeo.


Photos taken at the Ibis Pond rookery on Pinckney Island NWR in Hilton Head, SC June of 2012.

p.s. We just returned from Hawaii (Maui). I hope to have a few photos of those cool birds up soon. 

Juvenile Green Heron licking his chops...

This juvenile Green Heron was fun to watch. He would move slowly back and forth along a downed branch that hung over the mote at the Ibis Pond rookery on Pinckney Island in Hilton Head, SC looking for small fish. As he watched for his next morsel, he would lick his chops over and over. Those little fish must have tasted good! The video at the end of the post captures the action...

A juvenile Green Heron sees a fish swimming in the green waters below...

Baby plumes blowing in the breeze. Not many left...

Green Herons are stocky little herons. They always seem to have their necks pulled in.

...part of the fun of watching this juvenile Green Heron was watching his long toes curl around the branch as he walked slowly back and forth. Every move he made seemed to be deliberate, stealthy, and slow. 

...watch out, little fish.

Juvenile Green Heron Licking his Chops and Catching a Fish from Kelly Riccetti on Vimeo.


 I photographed this hungry little fellow last summer on June 12, 2012.

Little Blue Herons always put on a big show...

With striking slate-blue feathers on its body and muted maroon-purple feathers on its head and neck, it's hard not to notice a Little Blue Heron, especially when it shakes out those feathers!

This Little Blue Heron was watching over chicks in a nearby nest. He fluffed up his feathers and shook everything out, transforming into a little "regal" heron!

...his change is so rapid, it is almost like he slips on royal clothes.

...slowly morphing back into his "average joe" look.

...what a difference!

...here's another noticeable difference. When Little Blue Herons are chicks, they are white and remain so all through their first year. Hints of what's to come are visible, though--they have a small black tip on their bills, and small bits of darker gray or blue can be found at the tips of their wing feathers (but it's hardly noticeable).

Mother Nature always has a reason for her anomalies, and white morph immature Little Blue Herons are no exception. Turns out Snowy Egrets don't mind when baby Little Blue Herons hang out with them and fish. Maybe because the young birds are white, the Snowy Egrets ignore them, which is good for the young Little Blue Herons. For some reason, immature Little Blue Herons who hunt with Snowy Egrets catch more food! I found no definitive answer, but the most common reasoning was the Snowy Egrets hunt differently than Little Blue Herons and stir up more fish, making it easier for the Little Blues to catch dinner. Since the Little Blue Herons remain white for a year, they get a head start by fishing with Snowy Egrets. Because of that, you'll often find Little Blue Herons and Snow Egrets nesting together in rookeries...

A Snowy Egret nest is tucked into the Little Blue Heron section of the Ibis Pond rookery on Pinckney Island in South Carolina. Every year I've found Little Blues and Snowy Egrets nesting together at the Ibis Pond rookery.

For another post showing a Little Blue Heron in his "regal-ware," click here.

(Photographed on 6/6/2011 at Ibis Pond on Pinckney Island, SC near Hilton Head.)

For more information about immature Little Blue Herons and their white color morph, click here for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's "All About Birds" site.

"Where did you get the photos of Billy Idol?"

...is what Rick said when he came into my office and saw this puffed-up Cattle Egret on my screen...

"Pinckney," I responded casually. "He was great. Very polite...put on a fab show."

I've heard of dogs looking like their owners, but never birds looking like celebs...

...he was dancing with himself here.

The famous mohawk...

...off to the next gig.

...photographed at Ibis Pond on Pinckney Island, near Hilton Head, South Carolina 6/8/11. For other Cattle Egret posts, click here.

When a Little Blue Heron puffs up...

...he really puts on a show! Of all the herons, the Little Blue seems to be most dramatic in his displays. He goes from mild mannered (almost dull) to spectacular in a single breath!

...puffed up and in full breeding plumage, a Little Blue Heron creates a huge splash of color and drama...

...ominous...

...contemplative...

...our mild-mannered Little Blue Heron's alter ego can not be held in check!

...a guardian among birds...

...able to leap anything he wants to!

...until he finally slips back into his mild-mannered Clark Kent in feathers character.

Photographed on 6/8/2011 at the Ibis Pond Rookery on Pinckney Island (Hilton Head, SC).

Click here for all the 2011 Pinckney Island posts.

The three baby Cattle Egrets...and mama from behind

These are the same Cattle Egrets from the previous post. Mama left the nest for a few minutes to chase away a Night-crowned Heron, and when she returned, she faced the other direction, showing off her beautiful nuptial plumage.

A Cattle Egret nestling looks on as his mama jumps up to convince a Night-crowned Heron to move on to his own nest!

"Avian Architecture" and a Cattle Egret building a nest...

Let's jump all the way back to the first week of June when I was in Hilton Head, SC. Just before I had left for the trip, I had started reading "Avian Architecture; How Birds Design, Engineer, and Build" by Peter Goodfellow. Since I was headed to a heronry, I knew I'd be able to see lots of examples of nest building, and I did. I found platform nests, cup-shaped nests, hanging, woven and stitched nests, domed nests, holes and tunnels, and aquatic nests. If I had not been reading "Avian Architecture" at the time, I don't know if I would have been as intent on finding all the different types of nests. In years pasts at the heronry, I always admired and was amazed by the nests, and I had a cursory understanding of their structure, but it took reading "Avian Architecture" to really bring the engineering to life and deepen my appreciation of the building process. It's a great book to add to your birding library. I love it. Blue prints, photographs and lovely watercolors help you assimilate a lot of information quickly. It won't take long to help you understand another facet of bird life.

A Cattle Egret adds another stick to the nest. Cattle Egrets are colonial nesters and build platform nests near water, so it was no surprise to find them nesting in the heronry at Ibis Pond.

Male and female Cattle Egrets look similar and both parents participate in nest building, but often the male brings the sticks and the female places them; therefore, I'm deducing this is a female Cattle Egret.

...the nestlings seem to be saying something like, "Adding to the nest is all fine and good, but we're hungry. Feed us!"

...the perfect stick...in the perfect place.

Here are a few videos of the mama Cattle Egret arranging her nest. In the first video she's adding a new stick and in the second, she's trying to reposition an older twig that doesn't seem to want to budge. Also...in the first video you'll hear a conversation between me and Paul Krusling (the Cincinnati birder and expert herpetologist I had to travel 12 hours to meet! Click here for a previous post on Paul.)

Cattle Egret Building Nest from Kelly Riccetti on Vimeo.

Cattle Egret continues tidying her nest... from Kelly Riccetti on Vimeo.

She with the aqua-colored eyes...

...or possibly he...male and female Double-crested Cormorants look alike.

I found this juvenile Double-crested Cormorant in the willows across the mote at Ibis Pond on Pinckney Island.

I love that hooked bill...and even at a distance those aqua-colored eyes shine through!

...impressive!

...at this angle, you can see his wrinkly gular pouch easily.

...most of the literature describes juveniles as brown, but this bird was rusty colored...almost reddish.

The sun was bright, maybe that was enhancing the interesting color.

...for being so young he or she looks a bit curmudgeonly!

...as juvenile cormorants get older, their feathers turn darker until eventually they are all black. Cormorants do not breed until they are at least 2 or 3 years old. You can see black feathers emerging on this young cormorant, so he must be closing in on two years old. (For older posts showing adult Double-crested Cormorant plumage, click here.)

...this post is part of the 2011 Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge series. Pinckney Island is located just off Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. (Click here for the Pinckney Island 2011 posts, here for 2010, and here for 2009.)

A Painted Bunting eating grass seeds...

Sometimes I think I have a little bird fairy that sits on my shoulder and whispers in my ear when I’m missing something important. That was the case with this little Painted Bunting. I was photographing a beautiful Great Egret as he fished in the green waters of the mote in front of me, when I felt I needed to look to my left. There…about 6 feet from me, in the tall grasses that lead down to the water’s edge was this male Painted Bunting. He was busy foraging through the hanging seed tassels...

I can't believe he perched so close to me. Those little grass seeds must be very tasty to lure him in!

I hardly know what to say about this bird. He takes my breath away every time I see him...and the words seem to go with it.

Two years ago I photographed a Painted Bunting in the same spot! This little patch of grass grows all along the bank on the back side of Ibis Pond...the part of the pond where the birds don't seem to nest too often.

A sweet fellow...of course he lives on Pinckney Island!

I found this Painted Bunting at Ibis Pond on Pinckney Island NWR. When I first arrived, I could hear them singing at the forest's edge just off 278. They were all along that part of the driveway. When I looked up, one was even sitting on a wire singing! I knew it would be a good day when I spotted one seconds upon entering the refuge, but I had no idea I'd be able to stand about 6 feet from one!

...this post is part of the 2011 Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge series. Pinckney Island is located just off Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. (Click here for the Pinckney Island 2011 posts, here for 2010, and here for 2009.)