Wild Adventures Blog
Journey to the wild
Night Heron at dawn
With the summer season quickly approaching, the sun is rising earlier and earlier each morning. This provides me with a great opportunity to catch some of the action of the more elusive birds and wildlife before the sun rises.
It has been a long while since I’ve seen the Black Crowned Night Herons at Intaka Island. After walking around the reserve for a bit I managed to find them nesting in a tree. It was rather far away from the boardwalk and I really was hoping that I could get a closer shot of them. I could see the adults with at least two, possibly three juveniles.
I made my way to the hide very early one morning before sunrise. As I walked in I saw one of the juveniles sitting on one of the perches. I could hardly contain my excitement, but I had to tread carefully. These birds are rather skittish and any sudden movement could send it flying away.
For some reason this night heron seemed content in having me around and simply sat there, waiting for the sun to rise. I got quite a few shots of it before the sun appeared.
Eventually the sun peeped over the bushes at the hide and illuminated the heron. It relished in soaking up the morning rays. Once it had warmed up it decided to take flight.
The juvenile night herons have since started to learn how to catch their own fish. It would be lovely to see them in action on another early, sunny morning.
5 Comments on “Night Heron at dawn”
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Wild Adventures Blog 
I have been looking forward to reading about your latest adventures. As always, your photographs are superb!
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Thanks Anne. It’s been a while, but as always I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
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Lovely photos of a rarely seen bird, Cal! I especially love the last one on its rickety legs!
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I must agree. They appear to be very top heavy. That one looks like a tight rope walker.
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