Birding Hilton Head Island, SC and Pinckney Island at the Ibis Pond Rookery
...more photos of the Black-crowned Night Herons. I can never get enough of these twilight-loving, stocky little waders! I love their "hunched-over" posture and amazing red eyes. 
...this is the same bird from the previous post. He flew over my head after leaving the juvenile and landed in the pine trees behind me. He sat there quietly for a long time. I took 67 photos of this guy sitting in this exact posture (Why? I do that a lot. We are so lucky we live with digital.) He can totally do "statue." He was so close I didn't even have to creep up on him.
...same bird, similar stance, just not cropped as much.
...after the previous bird continued to be a statue, I decided to look back at the island. This bird caught my eye. I don't remember seeing the babies through the lens (but I forget a lot). It was a total surprise when I zoomed in on the photo and saw the two babies peeping out.
...back to the original juvenile. While the papa (or mama) sat in the pine behind me, this juvenile was still hoping for more food.
...the juvenile wing markings are beautiful. Also...if you look closely you can see the sun shining through the gular pouch.
...hard to believe amber color in his eye will slowly change to the bright red, and the brown and white will eventually become black, grey and white. The browns and ambers really help camouflage him when he's in the shadows.
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21 comments:
Beautiful birds, Kelly..... The Black-crowned Night Herons are so pretty... AND --I love seeing the juvies..... Neat!!!!
Hugs,
Betsy
Absolutely fabulous images!
Amazing shots, the babies were very camouflaged,I only saw one at first glance.I'm ready to head back here.
Hi Kelly...those eyes are piercing red aren't they!!
How comical to find those little guys in the nest...they are pretty well camouflaged!!
In the last photo, the first thing I noticed is that it looks like it is swallowing a stick...sorry I guess just the way my mind works. lol : }
Great photos...have a great weekend!!
Fantastic, Kelly!
Well Kelly, you have surpassed yourself. Really beautiful shots.
Kelly, as uaual your photos are as beautiful ...you always manage to capture perfect poses as well as their funny sides!
More fantastic shots! I love the statute. All the while he was sitting so still and you were snapping away I'm sure you were crooning to him asking him to perform for you.
Great set of photos, Kelly. Love seeing the young ones and their spikey hair-do.
Wonderful images. The birds I try to capture on my camera won't sit for more than two seconds. ;)
Stunning images again Kelly.
It's such a thrill to be able to get so close to them like that.
Love the photos! That must have been a nice surprise, the two sneaky babies in the shot!
Hi Kelly,
Amazing pics..
Shantana
I looked and looked for those babies, and then discovered I was looking at the wrong picture. Isn't neat when you discover you have captured something you didn't even know was there!
Wonderful photos!
Those are certainly magnificent birds!
Super images Kelly! I ENVY your talent as a photographer and and an artist!
truly a joy to look at your wonderful photos Kelly.
dan
Hi Kelly, I'm visiting from Carol's blog. Your bird photos are stunning. I love the juveniles. They remind me of Rock Stars!
Incredible images and moments captured! Makes you feel part of the scene.
...thank you, thank you again for your beautiful, wonderful comments. The combo of Pinckney Island and my Nikon camera makes photographing these birds easy. I can't even imagine getting a photo like this in Ohio. These birds would be long gone before I even raised the lens!! Of course, we have no Black-crowned Night Heron breeding colonies close by anymore. We used to, but they moved on years ago.
fantastic - I like the first photo - such a cool bird!
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