Florida Wading Birds: Tri-colored Heron

I'LL TRY SOME COLORED HERONS, PLEASE!

A "stand" of Tri-colored Herons (and a Snowy Egret far left), 2nd from left and far right are two jueniles while the Heron in the foreground is an adult; Oasis Visitor Center, Big Cypress, FL; 12/26/2012.

Before this trip, the only time I've seen a Tri-colored Heron was when  visited Mexico a few years ago.  During my 2012 Winter Florida trip, I think I saw Tri-colored Herons in almost every stop we made: Big Cypress National Preserve, Lovers Key State Park, Everglades National Park, and Ding Draling National Wildlife Reserve. While on our way south towards the Keys we stopped at what we thought was just a routine wayside/reststop. It turned out to be the Oasis Visitor's Center for the Big Cypress National Preserve, a large swath of area that covers much of Southern Florida from Alligator Alley to the Everglades.  Just a few steps from our rental car in the parking lot was a canal that ran along side of Hwy 41. In that canal there were a variety wading birds, including  at least a half dozen Tri-colored Herons (Above).  As shown, juveniles have a more reddish overall coloring with more white on their necks. Adults turn a bluish gray with a white belly and thin white and yellow stripe running up its throat to its lower mandible. All phases possess yellow legs. Juveniles and non-breeders have yellow bills, but during breeding season will turn a pale blue.

A Tri-colored Heron turning from a juvenile into an adult,  Big Cypress NP, FL; 12/26/2012.

(Above) is a good look at a juvenile that is starting to lose its reddish feathers in favor of the adult bluish feathers. Its bill is already losing most of yellow as it is turning into the blue bill of an adult breeder. By February it will have completed its transition into a breeding adult. (Below) is a good example of an adult.

An adult Tri-colored Heron, Everglades Nat. Park, FL; 12/29/2012.

(Below) is a a panned out photograph of the (above) Heron.

The same Tri-colored Heron as the photo above it; 12/29/2012.

I am wondering if the Heron in the (Above) photo is aware of what's in the grass just in front of it. See below if you can't pick it out.

The black arrow is pointing to a rather large alligator which is laying-in-wait hoping that the heron gets a bit closer; 12/29/2012. 

My guess is the heron was fully aware of the alligator laying in the grass just a few feet in front of it. One slight move of the alligator in the direction of the heron, the heron would have flapped off to safer ground.

Another Tri-colored Heron, Everglades Nat. Park, FL; 12/29/2012.

A different Tri-colored Heron, seen the day before, Everglades Nat. Park, FL; 12/28/2012.

The (above) photo displays a good look at the throat stripe of a Tri-colored.

One of my favorite photos of the trip, a preening Tri-colored Heron, Everglades Nat. Park, FL; 12/28/2102.

Another Tri-colored Heron, Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, FL; 12/30/2012.

Tri-colored Herons are fairly common in the Southeast corner of the country and can be found year round along the Gulf Coast States and Northward up the Atlantic Coast to Virginia.  In the summer months it spreads even further north to the southern tip of Maine. It can also be found in ponds, marshes, bogs, swamps, and lagoons scattered inland from Kansas to Pennsylvania, but with a high concentration in Lousiana and Eastern Texas. In fact, this heron has also been called the Louisiana Heron.

More Florida Wading Birds: The Glossy Ibis

A Glossy Ibis searching for a meal in the canal, Oasis Visitors center, Big Cypress National Preserve, FL; 12/26/2012.

I saw my first up close Glossy Ibis (Above and Below) last December during my first trip to Florida.  It was hanging with a slew of Tri-colored Herons, Snowy and Great Egrets, White Ibis, Little Blue Herons and a Wood Stork. It was quite a sight - the variety of wading birds.

The same Glossy Ibis, Oasis Visitors center, Big Cypress National Preserve, FL; 12/26/2012.

It stayed in sight and gave me some good poses before it disappeared into the brush. It was the most shy of the birds in the canal. Glossy Ibis get their names from the bluish / greenish sheen of their wing feathers when the sun reflects off of them at the right angle. Otherwise they appear a reddish brown overall with a slight pale border extending from their bill to their eyes.

A wedge of Glossy Ibis in a marshy field, Everglades Nat. Park, FL; 12/28/2012.

A few days later, while driving through the Everglades National Park, I caught sight of a congregation of about a half dozen Glossies (Above) about a 100 feet off the side of the road in a marshy weedy field. Thse guys can be found year round along the the southern Gulf States (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas). During the summer they will migrate up the Atlantic Coast all the way north to the New England States.

Wading Birds of Florida: Roseate Spoonbill

IN THE PINK; ROSEATE SPOONBILLS

A Roseate Spoonbill sitting on a tree branch along Hwy 41, Big Cypress National Preserve, FL; 12/29/2012.

One of my target birds during my December, 2012, Winter Florida trip was the Roseate Spoonbill (Above). Previously my only view of these beautiful wading birds was a few years ago while visiting the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.

The arrows are pointing to two Roseate Spoonbills mixed in with some Reddish Egrets, Magnificent Frigatebirds, and Brown Pelicans, Isla Contoy, MX; 12/21/2010.

We were on Isla Contoy , an island that was sanctioned as a Mexican National Wildlife Preserve. Only a limited number of people per day were allowed on the island, and only with a required guide.  After spending a few hours exploring part of the Island, we departed and while on the boat, we saw some small dots of pink (Above) flying along the island's far distant coast. They were barely distinguishable. So on this Florida trip, I was looking forward with high hopes of seeing a Spoonbill within good photography distance.

A blurry Roseate Spoonbill flying closely overhead, Everglades Nat. Park, FL; 12/29/2012.

I had three fleeting opportunities to capture a BIF Roseate while in Florida. First, while we were hiking in Lovers Key State Park (near Naples), on 12/26/12, two Roseates flew over, but were gone faster than I could get them in my viewfinder. Then later the same day, while stopping at the Oasis Visitor Center in Big Cypress National Preserve, a small bowl of Spoonbills flew over in the distance, not even close enough to warrant lifting my camera. Then on both days we were in the Everglades Nat. Park, we saw Spoonbills flyover. On 12/28/12, two flew above our heads, but were gone in an instant behind a stand of trees; on 12/29/12, while hiking around "Eco Pond," just beyond the Flamingo Visitor Center, with the purpose of looking for these allusive pink avians (this was the place we were told that Spoonbills are most likely to hang out), one flew by me at close range and I captured it in my viewfinder for a couple of seconds and for at least 4-5 burst shots. Unfortunately, I did not have my autofocus on, which I need for good BIF shots, and it was out of sight before I could manage to try to manually focus or switch to autofocus. I kicked myself for missing the opportunity. All I got was four blurry photos (Above: the best of the four). Doesn't this species ever land?

So as you can see, between my distance pics from Mexico, and my blurry shot in the Everglades, I was getting frustrated with my lack of luck / ability to get a good photograph of one of our country's most beautiful birds.

On our way back to Fort Myers, to catch a flight to Phoenix, AZ, we had two more destinations. The first was to make a second stop at the Oasis Visitor's Center in the Big Cypress National Preserve, since we saw much wildlife there three days before. All along Hwy 41, we were spotting Aligators, Kingfishers and Herons and Egrets of all kinds. The Center did not disappoint as there were lots of widlife hanging out in the canal running along the highway, but no Spoonbills. As we were leaving the parking lot, I saw a flock of Roseate Spoonbills fly overhead, and it looked like one landed in a tree not far from the roadside.  I pulled over, got out and saw the neck and head of a Spoonbill peaking over the treeline where it landed. I climbed onto the rental car to get a better look and sure enough within 100' or so, sat my opportunity. I hoped it would stay put until I could get my camera equipment ready, and it did - it stayed for the entire 5-10 minutes we stopped to get photographs and gave us nice full-body portraits (Top of page).

Roseate Spoonbill sitting pink amidst a stand of White Ibis, Ding Darling Wildlife Preserve, FL; 12/30/2012.

Then a day later, during our last stop before leaving our 5 day Florida trip, we visited the Ding Darling National Wildlife Preserve, on Sanibel Island, near Cape Coral / Fort Myers, I spotted three Roseates in a shallow pond among a congregation of White Ibis. It was quite a distance away, but it stood out beautifully with its bright pink reflecting in the water (Above and Below).

Another of the three Roseate Spoonbills, Ding Darling Wildlife Preserve, FL; 12/30/2012.

It took the final two days of our 5-day trip, but I was finally able to get some decent photographs of the Roseate Spoonbills. Between getting photos of these Spoonbills and Wood Storks from my 1/6/2013 post ...
 http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6337820950786353518#editor/target=post;postID=3841132405047196420
... I would consider the trip a birding success. These waders are primarily found in the southern third of Florida and also along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast.