Yellow-crowned Night Herons

YELLOW CROWNS AND YELLOW FEET

 

Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Corkscrew Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, FL; 12/26/2012.

Until last summer when a yellow-crowned Night Heron appeared in the Chicago area, I had never seen one before. They are more common in the southeast corner of the country than in the Midwest.  During my December trip to Florida, I saw these herons on both my first and last full days in my 5-day visit to this great birding state. My first sighting was in the Corkscrew National Wildlife Conservation Area. In fact I might have missed it if it wasn't for a thoughtful birder who left his spotting scope pointed at where a YCNH was napping in a tree across a shaded section of the swamp. Not only was there a spotting scope sitting by itself unattended, there was a sign attached to it with a page from The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America of the YCNH description. How long that scope and sign was there I couldn't tell, but one thing for sure, the heron was still there smack dab in the center of the viewfinder. At first it was napping with its eyes closed, and semi-hidden by some branches, but just before I was ready to move on down the trail, I noticed that it had woken up and shifted its position so I could get a clearer photograph of it (Above).

A yellow-crowned Night Heron, Ding-Darling National Wildlife Refuge, FL; 12/30/2012.

On my last day in Florida, while hiking in the Ding Darling refuge on Sanibel Island, I saw two more Yellow Crowns (Above and Below) in two separate locations.

A different Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Ding-Darling National Wildlife Refuge, FL; 12/30/2012.

The two I witnessed in Ding Darling were definitely awake and doing some fishing.

Egrets of Southern Florida

FLORIDA: THE LAND OF MANY WHITE DOTS

White dots: Great and Snowy Egrets, joined by Herons, Ibis, and Storks, Big Cypress National Preserve, FL; 12/26/2012.

After travelling through Southern Florida at the end of 2012, and hitting many of the important bird hotspots in the area, we could see white specks dotting the landscape everywhere we went. These white dots, of course, were the many white birds found in Florida: White Ibis, juvenile Little Blue Herons, White Great Blue Herons, White Pelicans and the three white Egrets - Great, Snowy and Cattle. These white birds proved to be a great contrast to the dark brown and greens fields, and the blue lakes and oceans that cover Florida. The photo (Above) is a a good representative what one may see just driving down the highway.


A Great Egret wading in the marsh of  the Corkscrew Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, FL; 12/26/2012.

The first of the three white Egrets found in Florida is the Great White Egret (Above), which we also see up in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin during the summer months. The Great White, as its name suggests is the largest of the Egrets, standing at 39" tall. Below you can see its size next to the Little Blue Heron (24") and White Ibis (25").

A Great White Egret towering over a White Ibis and Little Blue Heron, Ding Darling NWR, FL; 12/30/2012.

More Great Egret Pics (Below):

Great Egret on the South Pier, St. Petersburg, FL; 12/25/2012.

A Great Egret looking like it's doing a stand-up comic routine, South Pier, St. Petersburg, FL; 12/25/2012.

Snowy Egret, Lovers Key State Park, FL; 12/26/2012.

Snowy Egrets (Above), another of the big three white egrets were also very well represented throughout Southern Florida. We saw them in fields, in lakes, in marshes, along roadsides, and along ocean beaches. (Below) are more Snowy pics:

A Snowy Egret perched on a dormant bush in the fields of the Everglades NP, FL; 12/29/2012.

A Snowy Egret being dwarfed by a Wood Stork along the roadside canal at the Oasis Visitor Center, Big Cypress National Preserve, FL; 12/26/2012.

A wedge of Snowy Egrets roosting with Ibis and Herons at a pond, Everglades Nat. park, FL; 12/29/2012.

At 20", the smallest of the three white Egrets are the Cattle Egrets (Below), which are found more in the grasslands and open fields than the water as other Egrets.

Cattle Egret, Everglades NP, FL; 12/28/2012.

Another Cattle Egret, Everglades NP, FL; 12/28/2012.

I don't think I could have driven more than a mile in the Everglades without seeing a white dot out my window. It may be that because "white" a more visible color than the blues, grays and browns of tother wading birds, but it seemed that Egrets dominated the landscape of the Everglades, which should be renamed "The Land of the White Birds."

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.