This is the second of just 3 bird species I encountered at this lagoon in the Shuab valley on the west coast of Socotra. Here it’s resting in the warm light of the low-hanging sun in the west. Opposed to the Black-winged stilts, I found only one of this species. It sounds like this:
The oxbow lake at Amazon Research and Conservation Center, deep in the Peruvian Amazon, was almost still as I watched this heron stand perfectly still and then almost eject its bill into the water like a harpoon. The long white head plumes fly in every direction as a result. What really surprised me was the […]
It’s the end of the dry season in the Pantanal, and the torrential downpour of last night is now flowing towards the permanent rivers and lakes. In this photo the heron is walking in one such stream. This fresh water does not go unnoticed by those living in the permanent waters. Fish and crab will […]
This is a very skittish species, perhaps one of the most nervous of all. When I drive up any river these are the birds that first take to the wings to escape. This juvenile was a rare exception, as it was simply sitting there as I passed slowly. This is an adult which also is […]
It’s a rare opportunity when you find toucan’s nest, and even more so when you can follow their food delivery to the chicks. Here it’s coming with a large cicada in the beak. Sometimes the cicadas are not dead when they are handed over to the chicks and are able to escape, and one is […]
This immature rufescent tiger heron is quite hard to see when it’s standing still among the branches seen here. As with the adults they first freeze into a stretched posture when they feel disturbed, and takes to the wings if the disturbance increases. This one first stretched really high and made a nice and slim […]
This is a nocturnal bird for the most part, but that doesn’t mean they are asleep during the day. Here I passed by silently in my canoe, but even though I was at a distance, they were disturbed and restless in the dense trees they had chosen for their roost. There is absolutely now way […]
Usually a very wary bird, and very hard to get close to. In Pantanal many birds allow you to get quite close, but this particular bird is something out of the ordinary. People from Fazenda San Fransico have been able to “tame” it – meaning it has slowly accepted hand-outs from humans, so it will […]
Unfortunately I have lost a few really great photo opportunities in regards to this species, and I was about to miss this one as well, as the boat driver was in such a hurry, and in no way heeded my requests to slow down. In my few days in Madidi I saw only this one. […]
A large bird like this should be easy to see, but the Herons are expert at standing still no matter what their position is. They will assess the best cost benefit, and often they will fly off only if we get really close. Distance here is just 8 metres! The vegetation is very dense, so […]
The color of the Lava Heron looks rather dull and grey, until you get close up like this. In certain angles to the light you can see some iridescence. Like the other herons in Galapagos you won’t see it unless you know what to look for, or it moves. The plumage is a perfect camouflage […]