Wildlife Feature | Black-crowned Night-Heron

The striking gaze of the Black-crowned Night-Heron cuts straight through the lens. With blood red eyes and a beak that resembles that of a plague doctor mask, this common bird may look menacing, but its quirky mannerisms tell a different story. Watch below as these beautiful birds learn to hunt, preen, and find that perfect itch.

Slavinski Photography_Black-crowned Night-Heron 5

Black-crowned

Night -Heron facts:

  • The Black-crowned Night-Heron inhabits warmer climates worldwide, ranging from North and South America, Europe, and Africa to Asia and the East Indies.

  • These birds are primarily active during the evening (hence their name), and they inhabit freshwater, saltwater, and brackish wetlands, marshes, streams, lakes, and reservoirs.

  • Adults possess entirely black bills, while juveniles exhibit yellow and black bills.

  • Their diet includes fish, krill, crustaceans, frogs, insects, small mammals, and occasionally small birds.

  • Although they typically hunt solo, Black-crowned Night-Herons nest together in colonies.

  • Some of these colonies have been known to remain together for over 50 years.

  • During the breeding season, a long, thin, white head plume appears on these birds.

  • A breeding Black-crowned Night-Heron will care for any chick placed in its nest, even those that aren't its own offspring.

  • Juveniles leave the nest at only one month old and aren't capable of flying until they are six weeks old.

  • In the wild, Black-crowned Night-Herons can live for approximately 20 years.

On any adventure, I bring along my trusty Fujifilm X-T3 with the XF100-400mm + 1.4x TC, which is securely fastened to my backpack using a Peak Design Capture 3.0 Camera Clip. This setup not only makes me more mobile but also enables me to act quickly when I spot wildlife. Depending on the situation, I switch between photo and video modes to capture a variety of media to share. While I would prefer to use a tripod for crisper content, it can limit mobility and result in missed opportunities.

The first photo below is likely one of my favorite photos I've ever taken. As a photographer, there's no better feeling than when a creature connects with your camera and offers you their best. Scroll through to see more Black-crowned Night-Heron photos taken throughout Southern California.

Wildlife Feature | Snowy Egrets

Always on an adventure throughout California, I’m fortunate to come across so much beautiful wildlife - sometimes in the strangest little pockets of preservation.

Normally I only see a few snowy egrets scattered around, but just the other day there were about 6 or 7 all hanging around a drainpipe from one reservoir to the ocean where tiny fish were feeding of the drain as the egrets fed on them! Fun fact: A collection of egrets is defined by many nouns, including a "herony", "congregation", "skewer", "RSVP", and "wedge" of egrets.

Check out my video below to observe snowy egrets on the hunt while interacting with their environment.

SNOWY EGRET FACTS:

The snowy egret is a small white heron native to North, Central and South America. They can be found in wetlands like marshes, riverbanks, lakesides, pools, salt marshes and estuaries - where they’ll feed on fish, crustaceans, insects, tiny reptiles, snails, frogs, worms and crayfish.

They sometimes stalk their prey in shallow water, often chasing after it or shuffling their feet, flashing prey into view by swaying their heads, flicking their wings or as seen in this video - vibrating their bills in the water creating a ripple to attract fish. Their unique s-shaped neck only bends vertically, but not side to side.

The beautiful plumage of egrets was once hunted to decorate women’s hats - which brought the population down to extremely low levels. Now, they’re protected in the US by law under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 1918 and are now thriving.

Scroll down to see some of my favorite select snowy egret shots from my adventures around California.

Thank you for checking out my blog! Want more beautiful wildlife? Click on the image below to follow me on Instagram and like, comment and subscribe on my Youtube Channel.

PHOTOS & VIDEO © 2020 Brandon Slavinski