8 replies to this topic

[schwett]

i'm sure someone will tell me what type of bird this slightly funky looking guy is.

d800e, 200-400 f/4 vr, tc-17 ii, handheld, processed in ACR and photoshop.







shot at f/8 1/800, f/8 1/320, and f/5.6 1/3200, respectively. all iso 400. third one is 400mm without the teleconverter.

[Mike G]

I think maybe an adolescent Heron

[BobM]

Great Blue Heron. Nice shots!

[schwett]

thanks for the ID! the little antennae like things coming off the back of the head are interesting.

it's also not particularly blue!

[Mike G]

The antennae are plume feathers!

he/she is not blueish because its a baby.

[joel1952]

thanks for the ID! the little antennae like things coming off the back of the head are interesting.

it's also not particularly blue!

Agreed, more Bluish-Grey than Blue. And very high contrast makes it difficult to expose properly. Thus I typically darken these birds 1/2 stop in post-processing so the subject is not overexposed compared with the background

Edited by joel1952, 04 February 2013 - 17:53 .

[joel1952]

Unusual, new to me, pose of the bird sunning after an hour of sucessful fishing. (hmmmm not able to imbed a picture!?)

Attached Files

•  2013-02-03 09-42-12 735_resize.JPG   283.09K   1 downloads

[Millirehm]

The next question would have been, where the shot had been taken. Their relatives here the (smaller) Grey Heron look similar on the first view, but lack of the reddish feathers. Both species share the same common sunning position

[PedroS]

From the photos is hard to differentiate both species. It seems a Grey 2nd-winter juvenile.

There are a number of small differences, including the presence of some rusty coloration on Great Blues. Most reliable place to look for this is on the thighs, though it's often evident on the wing-coverts and neck. Yours has rusty thighs, rusty tips to several wing feathers and a slight rusty hint on the neck, and is a Great Blue Heron.

However, the two species have very different ranges so unless you're looking for rare vagrants, the identification is easy based on range. Great Blue Heron is a North (& Central) American species that's an extremely rare vagrant to Europe. Grey Heron is primarily a Eurasian species. I believe they've become regular in parts of Central America but they're extremely unusual in North America.

​So tell us where they have been taken and the mystery should be solved.