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.

Winter Wading Birds of Florida; White Ibis

White Ibis, Oasis Visitors Center, Big Cypress National Preserve, FL; 12/30/2012.

While on my five-day-long visit to Southern Florida, the week between Christmas and New Year's, I was fortunate to see 15 of the 18 Floridian wading birds featured in Sibley's Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America. The three birds I did not observe were: Reddish Egret and both Bitterns (Least and American). Other wading birds found in the Field Guide, but are not found in Florida are White-faced Ibis, Flamingo, Scarlet Ibis, and the Little Egret (it is not surprising that I did not see any of these as well). The latter three are rare visitors from outside the country.

Of all the wading birds present in Florida, the White Ibis (Above and Below) seemed to be the most common and visible. I saw them in every spot I visited.

More White Ibis, Ding Darling National Wildlife Preserve, Sanibel island,FL; 12/30/2012.

My Florida Wading Bird sighting List:
12/26
Lovers Key State Park: White Ibis, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Little Blue Herons, Roseate Spoonbills (Flyover)
Big Cypress Oasis Visitors Center: Cattle Egret, Glossy Ibis, Wood Stork, Tri-colored Heron, Great Blue Herons, Little Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, White Ibis
Corkscrew National Wildlife Refuge: Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Little Blue Herons, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, White Ibis
12/27
Key West: White Ibis, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Great Blue Heron (white phase)
12/28-29
Everglades National Park: Black-crowned Night Heron, Cattle Egret, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Great Blue Heron, Great Blue Heron (white phase), Great Egret, Green Heron, Little Blue Heron,  Roseate Spoonbills (flyovers), Snowy Egrets, Tri-colored Herons, White Ibis, Wood Stork
Big Cypress Oasis Visitors Center: Cattle Egret, Wood Stork, Tri-colored Heron, Great Blue Herons, Little Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills, White Ibis
12/30
Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge & Sanibel Island: Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Roseate Spoonbills, Tri-colored Herons, White Ibis,  Yellow-crowned Night Herons

White Ibis, Everglades NP, FL; 12/28/2012.

 White Ibis are common in muddy pools, mudflats, and marshes. I also saw them on lawns and fields of all variety - short grass, long grass, and in plowed fields. They are almost completely white save for their black wing tips and bright orange bills and legs. The orange in the adults are closer to a red-orange hue, while juveniles sport a paler orange color.

A juvenile White Ibis, Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, FL; 12/30/2012.

When I first spotted a juvenile White Ibis (Above), I thought it was a a different species. Young White Ibis are mostly brown with white rumps and undersides. They start getting their white feathers in December - first on their back, until they molt into white adulthood by spring.

White Ibis resting on a dead branch, Everglades NP, FL; 12/29/2012.

While on a boat trip out onto Whitewater Bay in the Everglades, I saw several couples of White Ibis roosting in trees (Above and below).

A juvenile White Ibis, Everglades NP, FL; 12/29/2012.

White Ibis can be found along the coasts of all the Gulf States and Mexico, as well as up the southern Atlantic Seaboard, reaching as far north as North Carolina.