{"id":7033,"date":"2013-01-06T05:03:59","date_gmt":"2013-01-06T12:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=7033"},"modified":"2025-09-21T17:40:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T22:40:42","slug":"juvenile-black-crowned-night-heron-a-winter-treat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/01\/06\/juvenile-black-crowned-night-heron-a-winter-treat\/","title":{"rendered":"Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron – A Winter Treat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Young\u00a0Young Black-crowned Night Heron on ice – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1\/640, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve mentioned before that Great Blue Herons<\/span><\/a> stay in the Salt Lake Valley over winter even though the temperatures get very cold and so do some of the Black-crowned Night Herons. I had just mentioned that I hadn’t been seeing the Black-crowned Night Herons when I saw this juvenile flying\u00a0over the\u00a0Phragmites near\u00a0a pond at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area and then it landed\u00a0on the ice close to some open water.<\/p>\n

\"Alert\u00a0 Alert juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 357mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons look quite different from the adults in plumage but they have the same general shape. Aren’t those orange eyes brilliant in morning light? And like the American Coot<\/span><\/a> images I posted yesterday from the same session, they both have big feet.<\/p>\n

\"Immature Immature Black-crowned Night Heron – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1\/640, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I don’t see the Black-crowned Night Herons as often in the winter as I do other times of the year so this young bird was a\u00a0lovely treat.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

I’ve mentioned before that Great Blue Herons stay in the Salt Lake Valley over winter even though the temperatures get very cold and so do some of the Black-crowned Night Herons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":139296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,321,697,26],"tags":[1533,3981,627,626,4064,4067,4071,4094,3956,3957,4292,4050,30,313,373,4193],"class_list":["post-7033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-black-crowned-night-herons","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-utah","tag-black-crowned-night-heron","tag-davis-county","tag-heron","tag-herons","tag-ice","tag-immature","tag-juvenile","tag-marsh","tag-night-heron","tag-night-herons","tag-nycticorax-nycticorax","tag-snow","tag-utah-2","tag-wading-birds","tag-winter","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-crowned-night-heron-immature-ice-mia-mcpherson-8088.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-1Pr","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":34314,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/12\/20\/juvenile-black-crowned-night-heron-on-ice\/","url_meta":{"origin":7033,"position":0},"title":"Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron On Ice","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 20, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"On a January morning in 2013 I photographed this juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron on ice for about a half an hour at Farmington Bay.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron on ice, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/black-crowned-night-heron-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-7924.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/black-crowned-night-heron-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-7924.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/black-crowned-night-heron-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-7924.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/black-crowned-night-heron-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-7924.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":76795,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/12\/30\/second-winter-black-crowned-night-heron\/","url_meta":{"origin":7033,"position":1},"title":"Second Winter Black-crowned Night Heron","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning at Farmington Bay I found and photographed a second winter Black-crowned Night Heron at the edge of the frozen marsh.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Second winter Black-crowned Night Heron, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/black-crowned-night-heron-second-year-mia-mcpherson-3662.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/black-crowned-night-heron-second-year-mia-mcpherson-3662.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/black-crowned-night-heron-second-year-mia-mcpherson-3662.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/black-crowned-night-heron-second-year-mia-mcpherson-3662.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":109677,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/01\/18\/immature-black-crowned-night-heron\/","url_meta":{"origin":7033,"position":2},"title":"Immature Black-crowned Night Heron – Where Are The Birds?","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 18, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"While going through my archives I found this photo of a fishing immature Black-crowned Night Heron taken 10 years ago today at Farmington Bay WMA.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature Black-crowned Night Heron fishing, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/black-crowned-night-heron-young-fishing-mia-mcpherson-2077.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/black-crowned-night-heron-young-fishing-mia-mcpherson-2077.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/black-crowned-night-heron-young-fishing-mia-mcpherson-2077.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/black-crowned-night-heron-young-fishing-mia-mcpherson-2077.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":118586,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/11\/27\/winter-black-crowned-night-heron-in-flight\/","url_meta":{"origin":7033,"position":3},"title":"Winter Black-crowned Night Heron In Flight","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"While going through my archives this morning, I found this photo of a Black-crowned Night Heron in flight. It was taken in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA in 2021.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Winter Black-crowned Night Heron in flight, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/black-crowned-night-heron-adult-flight-marsh-mia-mcpherson-6511.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/black-crowned-night-heron-adult-flight-marsh-mia-mcpherson-6511.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/black-crowned-night-heron-adult-flight-marsh-mia-mcpherson-6511.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/black-crowned-night-heron-adult-flight-marsh-mia-mcpherson-6511.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7181,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/01\/19\/some-fun-with-birds-from-yesterday\/","url_meta":{"origin":7033,"position":4},"title":"Some Fun With Birds From Yesterday","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"A wonderful fun-filled day with great companionship and plenty of birds. I can't ask for more.","rel":"","context":"In "American Barn Owls"","block_context":{"text":"American Barn Owls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/owls\/barn-owls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Chukar running on a snow covered rock on Antelope Island State Park, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/chukar-snow-antelope-island-mia-mcpherson-1790.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/chukar-snow-antelope-island-mia-mcpherson-1790.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/chukar-snow-antelope-island-mia-mcpherson-1790.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/chukar-snow-antelope-island-mia-mcpherson-1790.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":65424,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/02\/25\/resting-adult-black-crowned-night-heron\/","url_meta":{"origin":7033,"position":5},"title":"Resting Adult Black-crowned Night Heron","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 25, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"About two weeks ago I was able to photograph two Black-crowned Night Herons, one was immature and the other was an adult.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Resting Black-crowned Night Heron adult, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/black-crowned-night-heron-adult-in-phrags-mia-mcpherson-8597.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/black-crowned-night-heron-adult-in-phrags-mia-mcpherson-8597.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/black-crowned-night-heron-adult-in-phrags-mia-mcpherson-8597.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/black-crowned-night-heron-adult-in-phrags-mia-mcpherson-8597.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}