Juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron
Sometimes my photo outings are like my fishing trips. Fishing in the wrong spot, at the wrong time of day or with the wrong bait. But sometimes I talk to someone who knows the lake or river and suggests exactly where to go and what bait to use and it pays off. It helps with photo trips too, if i can learn where and when to go to get a good picture of birds or wildlife.
I got an urgent email message that a juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron had been spotted in a private pond nearby on Friday morning, which apparently was a pretty big deal, not having been seen in North Iowa since 2006. I was at work, so it was going to have to wait until later. I drove out in the evening and actually spotted the bird but it flew before I got a photo. The landowner was out in the yard and I stopped to introduce myself and got permission to come back and take pictures. I returned a little later but the sun was already behind the trees and the pond was in the shadows. I sat and watched from the car for a short while and spotted a bird across the pond - a bit too far away for a decent photo with my lens. As luck would have it the heron flew from across the pond and landed on the edge of the pond very close to the car. I couldn't see it from the car so I carefully crept through the weeds and slid behind a tree where I could peek around the side to get a better view. The light was fading but I was able to take several photos as the bird walked along the shore occasionally snatching something out of the mud with its beak. The juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron looks very similar to the juvenile Black-Crowned Night-Heron, but according to my bird book the wing feathers ('wing coverts') have pale edges - which can be clearly seen in this photo. As this one flew away I spotted another on the other side of the pond with a slightly darker beak and got a few photos of that one also. Now, if I can only get a photo of an adult. I like it when I can get a tip about getting a good bird photo and it works in to my schedule to take some pictures.
I got an urgent email message that a juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron had been spotted in a private pond nearby on Friday morning, which apparently was a pretty big deal, not having been seen in North Iowa since 2006. I was at work, so it was going to have to wait until later. I drove out in the evening and actually spotted the bird but it flew before I got a photo. The landowner was out in the yard and I stopped to introduce myself and got permission to come back and take pictures. I returned a little later but the sun was already behind the trees and the pond was in the shadows. I sat and watched from the car for a short while and spotted a bird across the pond - a bit too far away for a decent photo with my lens. As luck would have it the heron flew from across the pond and landed on the edge of the pond very close to the car. I couldn't see it from the car so I carefully crept through the weeds and slid behind a tree where I could peek around the side to get a better view. The light was fading but I was able to take several photos as the bird walked along the shore occasionally snatching something out of the mud with its beak. The juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron looks very similar to the juvenile Black-Crowned Night-Heron, but according to my bird book the wing feathers ('wing coverts') have pale edges - which can be clearly seen in this photo. As this one flew away I spotted another on the other side of the pond with a slightly darker beak and got a few photos of that one also. Now, if I can only get a photo of an adult. I like it when I can get a tip about getting a good bird photo and it works in to my schedule to take some pictures.
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