Breeding plumage Tricolored Heron in flight – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 200, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 185mm, natural light
I’ve always liked this image of a Tricolored Heron in breeding plumage that flew past me while I sat in the water of a tidal lagoon near a Spartina marsh in Florida. Warm water, a sea breeze, birds, nature and photography.
*Because of Google’s changes in Image Search and how they have begun to hotlink to my larger images I will no longer post large versions of my files on my blog.
Tricolored heron striking at prey – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
This Tricolored Heron image has always intrigued and amused me. I’m amused because I caught the moment just before the Tricolored Heron’s head submerged under the water and that I still managed to get eye contact, I am intrigued by how these herons evolved to have long necks that give them the ability to make lightning fast strikes at their prey some distance from their bodies. This Tricolored Heron had been slowly walking when it spotted its prey and struck at it. The heron missed the prey with this attempt but caught quite a few as the heron hunted close to me while I photographed it in a quiet lagoon in Florida.
Tricolored Heron shaking it up on tippy toes – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/800, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
The Great Blue Heron I photographed on Christmas Day seems to have focused my attention on wading birds, yesterday it was Reddish Egrets and this morning I present a Tricolored Heron shaking its feather while on tip toes. I remember photographing this heron with my friends and fellow photographers; Adrian, Mac and Rachel at Fort De Soto’s north beach at the lagoon near the concession stand.
I was laying down on the hard packed sand when I created this image which gave me a great low angle. Another title for this image might be “Tricolored Heron having a bad hair day”.
Hunting Tricolored Heron – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1/750, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 270mm, natural light, not baited
A few weeks ago back I posted a Tricolored Heron in breeding plumage and today I wanted to post an image of one in nonbreeding plumage from 2009. In this image the heron’s legs are yellow, the eyes are a watermelon pink and the lores are yellow, in breeding plumage the legs are pinkish red, the eyes are a darker red and the lores and the upper portion of the bill are almost a cobalt blue.
When I photographed this hunting Tricolored Heron I was laying flat on my belly in the shallows where the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico gently lapped the shore. I found that if I laid very still that this heron would approach me very closely, at times it was too close to focus on.
Tricolored Heron in breeding plumage with prey – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/750, ISO 250, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 300mm, natural light, not baited
Just a simple image of a Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) in breeding plumage with a small fish in its bill. The heron provided its own bait naturally by capturing it in the Gulf of Mexico.
While in breeding plumage Tricolored Herons have redder legs, darker red eyes, blue lores and blue on the bill plus a longer, white occipital plume than they do during the nonbreeding season. I’ve added no saturation to this image, these are the natural colors.
Image taken in 2009 at Fort De Soto’s north beach.
Breeding plumage Tricolored Heron in flight – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 200, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 185mm, natural light
