One of the Bird Kingdom’s Delights: Little Blue Heron

 

A mix of blue and white at our backyard pond caught my eye a few days ago. 

I knew right away what I was seeing because I have seen this a few times before. This is a Little Blue Heron that is also a little white because it is in the molting phase of becoming a much darker blue. 

Check out my blog post from 2011 that has many more photos of this interesting bird, especially images of a very young one with all white feathers. 

This Heron is also distinctive with a bill that is so dark at the tip. 

I walked around the small pond to take different pictures. It flew from one side to the other a few times. 

I was excited to get a few decent in-flight captures using my camera’s burst mode. 

The patches of white feathers amid the mostly blue ones give this beautiful bird a unique look. 

The Little Blue Heron is born all white and soon enough begins the transformation into the adult Little Blue birders know and love. 

I took this photo many years ago at the old Kings Grant Golf Course near here. 

Here is the grown-up Little Blue Heron. This one (pretty sure it’s the same one) was frequently at my pond this summer. Seems to be a bit of a loner, this breed. I usually see them just one at a time, as it was with the juvenile shown at the top of this post. I only saw that one the day I took the photos.