Look what came to visit today!

[WVduckchick]

My hubby and I fish a few lakes, and see lots of different shore birds. This was one of my favorites this past summer.

 

[aart]

This was one of my favorites this past summer.

What is that...another kind of heron, or type of kingfisher??
Very cool!

 

[WVduckchick]

@Pyxis identified it for me, maybe she remembers. I forgot

ETA we were trolling down the lake. It was running along beside us. It would stand and grab a small fish, then when we could get up alongside it, it would fly ahead a few feet and watch the water again. Was cool to observe.

 

[Miss Lydia]

is It a little blue heron?

 

[WVduckchick]

is It a little blue heron?

The one with the frog in its beak is a blue heron. I can’t remember what the other one is.

 

[WVduckchick]

I think we settled on Green Heron

I'm gonna go against the grain and say it's a green heron It doesn't seem to have the white cheek patch a night heron would have, nor do I see the little white crest. And the tricolored heron has a much longer neck. It also lacks the white belly a tricolored should have.

Louisiana heron (now called tricolor):

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tricolored_Heron/id

Night heron:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-crowned_Night-Heron/id

Green heron:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Green_Heron/id

 

[Fishkeeper]

That's a green heron, yes! I love them. They nest in trees, but they aren't very good at navigating trees because their toes don't really curl, so it's kind of like watching someone in snowshoes try to walk on top of a woodpile. The babies go from gangly-but-adorable fluffy things to awkward dinosaur things pretty fast.
A lady green heron decided to nest in the town square, right near the courthouse, which is about a quarter mile from the river. Had some fun watching them. They made a mess of the sidewalk, though. One sat on my mom's car for awhile once they fledged.

 

[aart]

Huh, I thought a green heron looked more like a great blue but larger than the one WV snapped.

 

[Fishkeeper]

I mean, common names are a mess, and it's entirely possible something in your area is called a green heron that isn't called by that name elsewhere. But if you look up "green heron", it's a bird that looks just like the ones in WV's pics. They're one of the smaller herons. I've never seen one up close enough to be sure, but I think they're somewhere near a bantam chicken in body size.

 

[Cynthia12]

Beautiful birds! This heron is not a visitor, but I can't believe I spotted him/her at the lake, it was so blended into the weeds.View attachment 1610860 View attachment 1610861

We have these in Utah. Back in the 80s I lived a couple of cities north if here, had a good sized river behind us that ran into Utah Lake..near us. These birds showed up every year. Not the prettiest, but pretty cool looking.