Posts Tagged ‘black-crowned night heron’

There has been a black crowned night heron swimming around in my thoughts for a possible new painting. So last week I took a photo excursion to the Yolo wildlife area to see if I could get some new images. I didn’t have a lot of luck with new photos of the subject, but there was an abundance of other herons and egrets. There were great blue herons, snowy egrets, and great egrets. In some places they would be standing “toe to toe” along the muddy banks meditating intensely on the murky waters before them. Occasionally there would be a flash of movement; a beak stabbing into the water and emerging with a fish which would disappear in a couple of lunging gulps. I liked the idea of having lunch while fishing!

I spotted this guy in an English walnut tree out at Sarge’s Cache creek ranch. There were two of them making quite a racket while a Swainson’s hawk was attempting to dive on them.