Black-crowned Night-Heron

Recent low low tides during the day were better for tide-pooling than birding, but Don and I nonetheless decided to check out Bodega Bay in the hope of finding a few late-departing shorebirds. As we drove along the road at Doran Beach we noted mats of algae and eelgrass on the mud flats, hosting about a dozen Western Gulls. We saw one of the gulls pick up a small flatfish (sand dab type) that apparently has gotten trapped in the eelgrass. We then noticed that 2 of the "gulls" were actually Black-crowned Night-Herons, foraging for any crabs or other prey. We're used to seeing Night-Herons on day-roosts, so it was fun to watch them actively hunting for a change.

The BC Night-Heron is a study in blacks, grays and whites, requiring underexposure to capture the range of shades. The large deep orange eye is valuable for hunting in the near-dark, and the short yellow legs add a nice color accent. When roosting their necks are retracted, resulting in a kind of skulking posture (Rich always said they looked "grumpy"). But when hunting, as here, the neck is more extended. The white plume (sometimes 2-3 feathers extending back from the hind-crown) is present in both sexes.

In the last shot the bird is facing into a stiff breeze, so the plume has extends back in a straight line.

"Nycticorax" translates as "Night Raven", a name chosen because its harsh call is vaguely similar to that of the raven. The species is distributed widely in the world, in both fresh and salt-water marshes.