Black-crowned Night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax, the world’s most wide-spread heron species.
Of course we have them in Brooklyn. This was a morning low tide at Bush Terminal Park.
They tend to be most active at night, as per their namesake, but if the foraging is good…
A greenish tinge in the lores on this one? Have never noticed this before. The Great Egret is noted for its breeding season green lores.
BCNH have long breeding plumes.
It takes about three years to get this full adult plumage.
Juveniles are very streaky brown. This one was at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge recently.
Fabulous and unique photos.
In all honesty, there was another photographer there that morning… it was just such a wonderful scene to stumble on. The early morning light and closeness of the birds, who didn’t seem to care a whit for the people passing by above them in the park, made for a nice alignment.