{"id":62931,"date":"2020-01-19T05:59:04","date_gmt":"2020-01-19T12:59:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=62931"},"modified":"2025-02-07T04:40:05","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T10:40:05","slug":"tricolored-herons-in-florida-habitats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/01\/19\/tricolored-herons-in-florida-habitats\/","title":{"rendered":"Tricolored Herons In Florida Habitats"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I lived in Florida Tricolored Herons were among my favorite wading birds to photograph and I found them in many different types of habitats. The Tricolored Herons I found there were approachable, interesting and very photogenic.<\/p>\n

\"RestingResting Tricolored Heron on the shore of Lake Maggiore- Nikon D70, handheld, f5.6, 1\/800, ISO 200, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 300mm, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I could locate Tricolored Herons at inland lakes and ponds by walking around the shorelines. This one was photographed in 2007 at from the shore of Lake Maggiore at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve where these herons would walk the shoreline in search of prey.<\/p>\n

\"TricoloredTricolored Heron with prey in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1\/750, ISO 200, 80-400mm VR at 240mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I also found Tricolored Herons on the shores and beaches of the Gulf of Mexico dashing in and out of the waves while hunting for food. This Tricolored Heron caught a small fish in the waves of Fort De Soto County Park’s north beach in March of 2009.<\/p>\n

\"TricoloredTricolored Heron on the bank of the Hillsborough River – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/640, ISO 400, 80-400mm VR at 220mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I could also see and photograph Tricolored Herons along slow moving rivers. This heron was photographed next to the Hillsborough River at a random spot where I pulled over in January of 2009. I noticed that across the river that I could see a rookery, this heron may have nested there.<\/p>\n

\"TricoloredTricolored Heron perched in White Mangroves\u2013 Nikon D70, handheld, f5.6, 1\/640, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 240mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Tricolored Herons are also found in mangrove islands, this one was photographed in June of 2007 as I walked the boardwalk through mangroves at Weedon Island Preserve. This was the first image I ever took of a Tricolored Heron that I was actually happy with.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Tricolored Heron foraging for prey in a tidal lagoon – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/1000, ISO 200, 80-400mm VR at 165mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Tricolored Herons hunt for prey in shallow tidal lagoons too where they are fun to watch and photograph as they run to and fro chasing after their prey. This adult Tricolored Heron was taking a break from hunting when I photographed it in February of 2009 at Fort De Soto County Park.<\/p>\n

\"TricoloredTricolored Heron at Roosevelt Wetland – Nikon D200, on mono pod, f7.1, 1\/320, ISO 200, 200-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Wetland habitats were another place where I knew I could usually find Tricolored Herons in Florida. This one photographed in November of 2008 at Roosevelt Wetland in Pinellas County was resting on the surface of vegetation in the water.<\/p>\n

\"TricoloredTricolored Heron in breeding plumage at the edge of a saltwater marsh \u2013 Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/750, ISO 200, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 300mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Saltwater marshes were terrific for finding and photographing Tricolored Herons, I could usually spot them in the spartina or along the edges of the marsh.\u00a0 I photographed this Tricolored Heron in May of 2009 while sitting in the water just outside of a marsh at Fort De Soto County Park.<\/p>\n

It was always great to see and photograph Tricolored Herons in so many different habitats in Florida and I have missed seeing them.<\/p>\n

But wandering Tricolored Herons have shown up in Utah and I’d sure love to photograph one here. That would be amazing!<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Tricolored Heron photos plus facts and information about this species<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I lived in Florida Tricolored Herons were among my favorite wading birds to photograph and I found them in many different types of habitats.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":139399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,2227,25,704,2324,2000,862,254,2350],"tags":[4004,4053,8377,4432,4136,683,8378,3758,5178,8372,1413,8374,4246,4106,5558,8373,8375,8376,4139,4901,3996,4119,3485,4095,8371],"class_list":["post-62931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-boyd-hill-nature-preserve","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-hillsborough-county","category-pinellas-county-florida","category-roosevelt-wetlands","category-tricolored-herons","category-weedon-island-preserve","tag-adult","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-estuaries","tag-fish","tag-foraging","tag-habitat-2","tag-habitats","tag-hillsborough-river","tag-lake","tag-lake-maggiore","tag-lakes-2","tag-lily-pads","tag-nonbreeding-plumage","tag-prey","tag-river","tag-rivers","tag-saltwater-marsh","tag-saltwater-marshes","tag-spartina","tag-surf","tag-water","tag-waves","tag-wetland","tag-wetlands","tag-white-mangroves"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tricolored-heron-wetlands-mia-mcpherson-2751.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-gn1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8441,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/05\/26\/tricolored-herons-times-three\/","url_meta":{"origin":62931,"position":0},"title":"Tricolored Herons Times Three","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 26, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I actually like the backgrounds in each of these images, all of them show the habitat that Tricolored Herons might be found in and highlight the birds too.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tricolored Heron in pastel water and soft light, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-still-water-mia-mcpherson-9796.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-still-water-mia-mcpherson-9796.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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10, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tricolored Heron in breeding plumage with prey, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/tricolored-heron-breeding-plumage-prey-mia-mcpherson-2149.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/tricolored-heron-breeding-plumage-prey-mia-mcpherson-2149.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Warm water, a sea breeze, birds, nature and photography.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Breeding plumage Tricolored Heron in flight, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/tricolored-heron-breeding-flight-mia-mcpherson5517.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/tricolored-heron-breeding-flight-mia-mcpherson5517.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/tricolored-heron-breeding-flight-mia-mcpherson5517.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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McPherson","date":"May 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Some images remind me of the wonderful day I had when I created a certain image, this photo of a Tricolored Heron in breeding plumage photographed at the north beach of Fort De Soto, Florida is one of those files.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tricolored Heron trying to sneak by, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/tricolored-heron-breeding-mia-mcpherson-5614.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/tricolored-heron-breeding-mia-mcpherson-5614.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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