Lion-maned Heron

Hello friends. We’ve got something special for you folks today. This is the rarely glimpsed Lion-maned Heron. These uncommon visitors to our shores tend to visible only on windy days. Similar in coloration to our native Great Egrets, they can be distinguished by the basic fact that Great Egrets never have bad hair days. Or so they claim. 🙂

JK

Scratching That Itch

Thursday, October 15, 2020,

This is a juvenile Snowy Egret finding the spot. Luckily, these birds come equipped with a pair of excellent back (or neck) scratchers. And they’re very nimble. You can identify this Snowy as a juvenile by the yellow line that runs along the back of its leg. Snowy Egrets are known for their bright yellow feet aka “Golden Slippers.” Adults have all black legs but as youngsters, they have pale yellow legs. As the summer progresses, their legs lose the yellow and become black. In my mind’s eye and highly unscientific view, I imagine all that pale yellow coloration slowly draining down to their feet and concentrating into those classic Golden Slippers. JK.

JK