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Along the Natchez Trace

Friday, January 31, 2014

The Identity of the Mystery Bird

I'm sure everyone of you have been waiting with bated breath to know what we saw...
Say, have you ever wondered about "bated breath"?  It's not "baited breath"...  which sounds like it smells kind of fishy, but is a shortened term.. "abated breath"...  which sounds kind of Shakespearean, doesn't it?

Oh...  back to the bird....
Bill & I walked down to the Rickety Bridge today...  with binoculars and cameras in hand.  I was hoping to spot the kingfisher, but anything about is fair game for my photography efforts.

The Tricolored heron was there...
I had a grand time catching it in various poses.
He is every bit this bluer than blue color!

When the water was still, its reflection was like a mirror image.  

There are lots of minnows and small fish in this creek...  excellent fishing area for herons, egrets and the like...
I was trying to adjust the shutter speed to pick up the rapid movement...  instead got this funny photo that shows him at his most awkward.

We were at the creek quite a while, and, sure enough... the kingfisher appeared...
Green Kingfisher
He tucks himself in among the foliage when he's not diving after fish...  at times he was difficult to spot.
We've seen the Green Kingfisher before while in the Rio Grande Valley.

Oh yes...  the mystery bird...
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Right there in the mangroves where he likes to be.
Same place he was yesterday, only this time he raised his head.

Not only him...
But there were at least 6 Night-Herons here (only 2 are visible in the photo), as well as other birds nestled in among the branches.  Looks like a fair size rookery.

This rookery is located about a hundred feet upstream of the creek....  just around a bend.  I'd sure like to find a way to get up there and just watch for a while....

Maybe I will...

That's All For Today!

11 comments:

  1. I'd never even heard of a tri-colored night heron. Gorgeous (oh, and the bird, too).

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  2. Excellent pictures and ;ove that tri-colored heron.

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  3. Oh goodness - you did good! So it was a Yellow-crowned Night Heron! You're seeing some great looking birds. I always love getting a glimpse of a Kingfisher. You've just got to get to that rookery for more photos!

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  4. After seeing todays pictures of the Night Heron, I must totally agree with your identification. I should have never doubted you.

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  5. that blue heron is gorgeous ... well all of them are but isn't that something.. .wonder why nature decided she/it/he needed a heron with three colors and that BLUE,... fascinating

    With your an Judy's love of birds ... it's easy to see why people are bird watchers ... belonging to bird watcher groups. hahaaa that just reminded me of aw jeeeeeez Bob Cummings Show and the woman who played Mrs. Hathaway on the Beverly Hillbillies but in Bob's show she was a bird watcher ... hilarious.... well... a google

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  6. I'm certainly glad you cleared up that mystery for me, Sharon! I've been scratching my head trying to see if anything popped up when thinking about your mystery bird in that tree. You've sure been in the right place to see a lot of pretty interesting and colorful birds, and that's such a great thing! Thanks so much for sharing, and for including all the neat photos! Even when you catch them in unusual and ungainly poses, it's such fun to see them!

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  7. Beautiful birds collection. Love it. Happy weekend!!

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  8. What fun. My parents had a friend who sat on a chair in the river to paint a covered bridge. You'll figure it out.

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  9. Great pictures. That heron is so BLUE!! Gorgeous. Glad the other guy stuck his head up for you.

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  10. Herons and egrets do have such funny walks when they are stalking their meals. The reflection was perfect to show off the herons coloring, Sharon.

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