Little Blue Heron, Chincoteague NWR

As the warm light of the day faded away, I continued to photograph this Little Blue Heron looking for a catch in the waters around Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge back in July when I visited there.


It is amazing just how light can change the look and feel of a subject. In these images this Little Blue Heron is so dark he almost doesn't even appear to be a Little Blue Heron.

He was busy fishing and only looked up once. Not sure if he was looking at me or not but I doubt it. He probably saw something in the water that I couldn't see. I saw a beautiful Little Blue Heron on Assateague which I posted earlier in the summer and then I posted another image of a Little Blue Heron on the bay side off of Chincoteague Island itself, and now here's a photograph from late day off Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. So needless to say, Little Blue Herons were plentiful around the Eastern Shore when I was visiting there in July. I hope to get back there again some day, but until then memories and these images will have to sustain me. Hope your weekend is going great. ENJOY!

Little Blue Heron, Chincoteague Island, Virginia

Of all of the birds I added to my Life List from the Eastern Shore, this is one of my favorites I captured in this 'Birder's Paradise'. This Little Blue Heron has such soft blues in his feathers, but I especially love the cool blues of his head. This wading bird actually is born solid 'white'. As a juvenile he begins to turn blotchy blues all over his body and finally into adulthood turns this beautiful array of blues. The degrees of blue color that make up this gorgeous smaller species of Heron was captured, unbeknownst to me, on my first day out on the western bay side of Chincoteague Island along the shore.

After capturing several images of a Heron the second day out over on the wildlife refuge, I had decided that was going to be the closest I could get to what I learned after looking at those images closely was a Little Blue Heron. I didn't realize that the day before these images, which I thought was a Tricolored Heron, was actually a Little Blue Heron.

If you read my blog, you know I'm not a birding expert. It wasn't until today after heavily cropping these images that I realized the true identify of this bird. After I cropped one of the images really close to see if there was anything in this little guy's mouth, I got to looking at his color, and that's when I realized he was a Little Blue Heron. I had thought he was a Tricolored Heron, but nope, he wasn't. Aside from cropping to see what was up with his bill, his colors intrigued me as they were a little bluer than the Tricolored Heron I saw that day over on the refuge. My new philosophy after this trip . . . take a good long close up look before making the final decision on the species of bird. Nonetheless, he's beautiful. Don't you agree? ENJOY!


PHOTOGRAPHER'S NOTE: I'm on deadline this week with the magazine, so for the first time I am 'scheduling' a post to view the following day after I wrote it. I've never done this before, but will be excited to see if all goes well. Okay, it's the little things in life that really make me happy!

Beautiful Assateague Island National Seashore

Traveling to the Eastern Shore of Maryland last week, I pulled onto Assateague Island National Seashore, with a goal in mind to photograph the Wild Ponies. Needless to say, I was excited about the prospects of seeing them grazing on this barrier island. Wondering if they would even be close enough to photograph, yet reading exerts and seeing images online, I could only hope. Before I could even make my way past the entrance gate, there stood a Wild Pony grazing on the grasses. That just added to my enthusiasm. The motor route on Assateague takes you past miles of marshland and dense brush until you reach the farthest most point, South Ocean Beach. This area is perfect for visitors eager to spend the day sunbathing, beach combing or, need I say it, surfing. Unfortunately, further south the rangers had quarantined off the area due to nesting birds. Not to worry. All around the parking areas next to the beach stood the Wild Ponies grazing. Their long manes blowing with the ocean breezes was just an amazing sight.

After spending a few minutes at South Ocean Beach, I drove back out the same route I had taken in and about half a mile on the left I turned west onto the road leading to Old Ferry Landing. Basically this area has a parking lot, a short boardwalk and a small clapboard boathouse. But there, far off in the distance, out among the saltwater marshes, stood this small band of Wild Ponies. Knowing the horses were too far away for a decent image, I parked my car and pulled off my shoes. On went the muck boots and off I went trekking out into the marsh about 300 yards. Just enough to close the distance between me and those elusive horses. Mostly I trekked across mud and, well, more mud just to snap this next image. Later that evening I downloaded my images from the day. I opened them and stopped when I saw this one in particular. Boy was I happy I had gone to all that trouble. The beautiful azure greens of the saltwater marshes coupled with the tans and browns and cream colored coats of those Ponies just captivates you.

Before I left Old Ferry Landing, I walked out on the boardwalk for a short distance just in time to see I had scared up a Little Blue Heron that had been perched low next to the edge of the marsh out of my sight line. This is a Life List bird. Never before seen by me, but after seeing his blue bill I knew this wasn't your customary Great Blue Heron. I read later that the Little Blue Heron juveniles are born solid white and dramatically turn blue as they age into adults.

Leaving Assateague Island late that day after the best light of the day had finally faded away I drove south making my way to Chincoteague Island, Virginia. Yet, I know, without a shadow of a doubt, Assateague will stay with me forever. How could it not with its azure green saltwater marshes blowing in the ocean breezes. ENJOY!