Black-crowned Night Heron, Gilbert AZ (Again)

Posted on 04 February 2019 by Isabel Gibson

I have both celebrated this lovely bird and bemoaned its photographic challenges.

As the photo on the left (from a few years ago) and the photo on the right (from a few weeks ago) both show, the black-crowned night heron likes to skulk in the shrubbery, making portraits difficult.

2-photo collage of black-crowned night herons in a typical pose, hiding in the shrubs.Combined with their tendency to sit still for hours on end, this seems a lot like thumbing their nose at their photographic responsibilities. It’s all the more exciting, then, when one actually emerges from the weeds, so to speak, and Does Something. In the Spring, I guess a young night heron’s fancy turns to sticks. But I’m guessing, too, that the nest under construction is even deeper in the shrubbery.

2-photo collage of black-crowned night heron

 

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8 Responses to Black-crowned Night Heron, Gilbert AZ (Again)

  1. Sid Dunning says:
    10 February 2019 at 11:13 am

    Well done!

    Sid

  2. Kate says:
    10 February 2019 at 12:23 pm

    Nice shots!
    I’ve seen these lovely birds many times in Hawaii (skulking)… nice to see one emerging here 🙂
    Love
    Kate

    • Isabel Gibson says:
      10 February 2019 at 1:19 pm

      Kate – I saw them again this morning on my weekly trip to the area. Very active. Not sure whether that was the cooler morning or the onset of breeding season, but nice for whatever reason.

  3. Alison Uhrbach says:
    10 February 2019 at 1:30 pm

    I want to come walking with you!! and especially today, as it’s -31C here.

  4. Laurna Tallman says:
    10 February 2019 at 1:40 pm

    You mention patience, an aspect of your photographic work that had not occurred to me. I hope you will continue to clue in the clueless, such as I, on the skills you use to create your magic.

    As frequently happens, if I have the time, your comments lead me to further learning, in this case, about unusual bird’s nests at https://featuredcreature.com/10-totally-unusual-bird-nests-around-world/
    Thanks for more insights into this wonderful world.

    • Isabel Gibson says:
      10 February 2019 at 1:59 pm

      Laurna – What an amazing set of nests! Many thanks for the link. I’ve seen starlings and gila woodpeckers using/adapting cactus cavities for nests, and been shown a pygmy owl doing the same. But all the others are yet-to-be-seen. As for patience, I hear from photographer friends about focused amateurs who will spend several hours waiting to get the shot, and of professionals who spend months in a blind to get a photo spread for one article. So when I wait around for 15 minutes, or come back day after day or week after week or season after season, it hardly compares. But we all do what we can. 🙂

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