Reader Joe Dickinson sent some heron, and one herring-loving heron:
I had a nice look yesterday at a great blue heron (Ardea herodias) at Neary Lagoon, a wetland/wildlife preserve in the middle of Santa Cruz, CA. Back in January, I had a closer look in better (softer) light at the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor.
These reminded me of a recent posting on the European grey heron by your reader, Pyers, from the UK . I had always assumed it was the same species (just a different common name), but I find that the European species is Ardea cinerea. For comparison, I’ve included a couple of my best shots of that species from 2008, one from Kinderdijk and another I call “the herring heron of Hoorn” (because he hung out by a shop in Hoorn that sold herring and begged/pilfered samples). Both, of course, are in the Netherlands. Finally, I learned that there is a distinct subspecies (A. hernias cognata ) in the Galapagos Islands, for which I have a photo from 2006.
As the photos were unlabeled, readers will have to sort them out, but I suspect that the herring heron of Hoorn is the next to last photo and the Galapagos subspecies is the last one.
Those are some very good photos. We have some Herons that stay around here all summer and I have to get some pictures. Very hard birds to get close to at all.
Nice ones, thanks. Amazing similarity amongst them.
Harry’s harried hairy heron of Hoorn, Holland?
b&
So I am hearing a lot here about herons of different heredities. Especially hoovering herons that heist herrings.
Suspecting that there oughtta be some on Huron, I went Google Imaging for Huron Heron, and came up mostly with houses. But there were a few, including this one, that seems quite nice.
It’s fascinating to watch these birds in action. With their long legs and necks, they are perfectly at home stalking their prey in the tall grass of the everglades.
Heron gone. Lovely shots!
Sub
Thanks, Joe. These are lovely.
Striking Herons…very reptilian looking. What is that top-knot/Alfalfa looking feather(s) on the first Heron’s head. Never noticed that on other Heron photos…perhaps this is a species I haven’t seen before.
Just checking if my name comes up. Don’t know why I got an Anonymous header.