Tonight I found this Black Crowned Nigh Heron sitting on a tree branch out in my backyard Cypress Tree area. The lake has flooded into the ‘Cypress Stand’ and so there are many birds out there getting food. Probably there are some fish coming in from the lake too.
This is a ‘breeding male’ Black Crowned Night Heron. I identified it in a Florida bird book. The two white plumes coming from the black crown helped me identify it as a breeding male. The other evening I got a juvenile of this species. At that time I wasn’t sure of its ID. The dark red eye really helps with the identification.
The population of this bird is stable or increasing. It is primarily nocturnal and roosts in trees in daytime. It feeds on whatever is most handy including fish, rodents, frogs,snakes, plant material, eggs and young birds.
No telling what else I’ll find out there. I keep a sharp look out for any action in my backyard.
I used the Nikon D3 and the Nikon 180mm F2.8 with the Kenko 1.4 teleconverter
