©Delores J. Knowles 2008 -- Contrary to what your eyes are telling you, this is a Great Blue Heron. There are five subspecies of the Great Blue Heron, of which one of them is Ardea herodias occidentalis. The first documented sighting of this magnificent bird was by John J. Audubon in 1832 on Indian Key in Florida. The white form of the Great Blue Heron, known commonly as the "Great White Heron," is found nearly exclusively in shallow waters along the coast of southern Florida, the Yucatan Peninsula, and in the Caribbean. It was long thought to be a separate species but is now called the white color-phase of the Great Blue Heron. Some texts refer to it as the white- morph of the Great Blue. One interesting documented sighting outside of Florida was in September of 2001 when a beautiful specimen was seen roosting in a tree in Wolfe Pond Park on Staten Island, New York. Now how do you tell all these large white waders apart? Look at the bill and the legs and feet. Notice the blue face coloring on this bird that is common to the Great Blues. It’s legs and feet are light colored. You will find images of the following birds on my gallery: The Great Egret -- you will see that the face coloring around the eyes is yellow -- the same as their bill. Also, the Great Egret has very black legs and feet. The Snowy Egret -- Another large white wader but the Snowy has a black bill with yellow on their legs and feet. The Small Blue Heron -- To add to the confusion, this smallish blue wader spends the first year of his life white. Many times, because of his size, he is confused with the Snowy Egret. But the Little Blue, while he’s white, still has the bluish gray bill he will have as an adult, and his legs and feet are a dull greenish gray just as they will be when he’s full grown. I was fortunate to capture shots of this beautiful bird on the west coast of Florida on Sanible Island.
25 Comments
Kathie Nichols 25 Feb 2008
Rather stunning capture Delores...wow!!Christine brand 25 Feb 2008
I love your bird phtos. Excellent. and very informative information. Thanks for sharing this.Mrs.David Jobes(Dee) Jobes 24 Feb 2008
Gorgeous Artistic capture!!!Superb camera work,Delores!!!:)gregg dutcher 24 Feb 2008
Not only is your photography outstanding,....but your writeups are very informative and fun to read!!!Booker T. Williams, Jr. 24 Feb 2008
Love the contrasting blue background ! ! !William Boyer 23 Feb 2008
keep them commingjamie winter 23 Feb 2008
great shotBarry Huyett 23 Feb 2008
I agree.....WOW!........amazing PIC!!Jessica Courtley-Rose 23 Feb 2008
WOW! AMAZING capture! Your colors are always so right on!Joanna Jungjohann 23 Feb 2008
so gracefully lovely!~KC CHANG 23 Feb 2008
JUST FABULOUS!Anonymous Guest 22 Feb 2008
Nice shot and very informative!Warren Ballard 22 Feb 2008
Great shot!Dianne McGrath 22 Feb 2008
Awesome, Delores! You never cease to amaze me!Shakeh Sarookhanian 22 Feb 2008
Wonderful ,so nice!Anonymous Guest 22 Feb 2008
Awesome, Delores! You'll ne'er cease to amaze me!Nira Dabush 22 Feb 2008
Fantastically taken ,Delores...SPLENDID COLOURSJoke Schotting 22 Feb 2008
The anonymous Quest was Joke!!Anonymous Guest 22 Feb 2008
Beautiful capture Delores!!Jodi Keys 22 Feb 2008
Bravo Delores! WOnderful work and amazing capture.Lili Segal 22 Feb 2008
Another masterpiece, Delores! Bravo!Cindy Lemoi 22 Feb 2008
So beautiful, Delores ! Fantastic work !Emily Reed 22 Feb 2008
THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL! I DID NOT KNOW ALL THIS. THANK YOU FOR THE PHOTO AND THE INFORMATION!Chris Roukema 22 Feb 2008
Most Awesome photo, Delores! Superb Work! I Just Love this Capture! Most Excellent! Stunning Beauty!Gerard van den Berge 22 Feb 2008
Bautiful done ; white bird and the olmost abstract backblueground