Nesting birds can be readily misidentified because many change, some more than others. . .
The Little Blue Heron changes dramatically in its appearance shown above.
The fledgling and juvenile Little Blue Heron are white for about 1 year. Afterwards, they enter a calico or "tie-dyed" slate blue and white stage until they reach adult plumage, which is slate blue with a "muddy" purple to maroon head and neck. This species is the only heron that makes a white to slate blue change.
The white coloration may actually protect them by allowing them to feed with Snowy Egets, which are a flocking species. During their initial year of life, being part of a flock provides "safety in numbers." Little Blue Herons are a small heron 24 inches high, like the Snowy Eget, but have yellow to greenish legs instead of black legs (with golden feet) as do the Snowy. Their bills are also bi-colored, not dark like the Snowy. After a year, dramatic changes begin to happen.
Like other wading, long-legged birds, they like crustaceans, fish and frogs. Once they molt to adult plumage, they feed more alone, but may be seen around other similiar-sized Herons such as the Tri-colored Heron and the Reddish Heron, which are both slightly larger than 2 feet in height and more likely to be closer to the Gulf coast, but are seen in Fort Bend (Texas) particularly in marshes and along creeks and rivers and ponds. Brazos Bend State Park is an excellent place to see the life cycle during the summer.
Little Blue Herons feed in a slow, sweeping motion. They can migrate and range from the SE US all along Mexico and Central America to Peru and Uruguay in South America. They are Year Round residents of the Gulf Coast.
Photos copyrighted by Quail Valley resident and international birder Margaret Sloan. View her international and national bird pictures by pressing this link.
See a bird you don't recognize in Fort Bend? Margaret has photographed 130+ bird species just in her suburban backyard alone. Narrow your initial search by viewing her full photo album of local birds, Birds of Quail Valley by pressing this link. They are organized by types of birds, so if it's a water bird for example, you may find one that helps you narrow your search. Then if you "google in" the name of the bird, you'll get info and all kinds of information and images. Sometimes if a species is remarkably different from adult you may find nothing, contact us and we'll do our best to help.
Researched and posted by Janice Scanlan
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