February 2nd is World Wetlands Day to raise global awareness about the critical role of wetlands for people, wildlife and our planet.
When I lived in Florida Tricolored Herons were among my favorite wading birds to photograph and I found them in many different types of habitats.
I must admit I get a little bonkers though when I see images of birds where the name posted for the species in the photo is incorrect, for instance, it is Tricolored Heron not Tri-colored Heron.
Seven years ago I could be found most often walking along the Gulf of Mexico at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach in search of birds to photograph.
Just a simple Tricolored Heron image this morning that I created at Fort De Soto County Park in March of 2009.
Tricolored Herons are smaller than Great Blue Herons and larger than Snowy Egrets and all three of these wading birds hunt in many of the same locations along the Gulf Coast.
These images of birds on the beach were taken at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach six years ago today on a beautiful morning.
I believe that even without what some may consider "the perfect head angle" that we can create interesting and compelling avian images.
Tricolored Herons use many foraging behaviors to obtain their prey including walking quickly then crouching before stabbing their prey.
There is a quality that feels very tranquil about this Tricolored Heron image for me. It may be the still, silky texture of the water or the soft pastel color of the water created by the early morning light.
My post for today is just a simple image of a Tricolored Heron I photographed as it hunted in the surf of the Gulf of Mexico in coastal Florida one June day in 2008.
Waves, warm sand, a camera in hand and a Tricolored Heron. Such simple things but they bring such great pleasure.
This image of a Tricolored Heron perched in White Mangroves happens to be the first photo that I had taken of a this species that I was very happy with.
I was digging through my image files yesterday and came across a series of Tricolored Heron images that I had never edited from a May morning in 2009 when I was photographing birds at Fort De Soto's north beach.
I actually like the backgrounds in each of these images, all of them show the habitat that Tricolored Herons might be found in and highlight the birds too.
I've always liked this image of a Tricolored Heron in breeding plumage that flew past me while I sat in the water of a tidal lagoon near a Spartina marsh in Florida. Warm water, a sea breeze, birds, nature and photography.
I am intrigued by how these herons evolved to have long necks that give them the ability to make lightning fast strikes at their prey some distance from their bodies.
The Great Blue Heron I photographed on Christmas Day seems to have focused my attention on wading birds, yesterday it was Reddish Egrets and this morning I present a Tricolored Heron shaking its feather while on tip toes
When I photographed this hunting Tricolored Heron I was laying flat on my belly in the shallows where the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico gently lapped the shore.
While in breeding plumage Tricolored Herons have redder legs, darker red eyes, blue lores and blue on the bill plus a longer, white occipital plume than they do during the nonbreeding season.
Maybe the Tricolored Heron thought Monday might look better upside down? Just a bit of humor for a Monday.
I photographed this Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) a few years ago when I still lived in Florida.
Some images remind me of the wonderful day I had when I created a certain image, this photo of a Tricolored Heron in breeding plumage photographed at the north beach of Fort De Soto, Florida is one of those files.
As a bird photographer I often strive for images where the subjects are out in the open, without distractions in the fore or background, but as with any photographic "rule", they are made to be broken.
Another one of my favorite wading birds is the Tricolored Heron, a bird that used to be called the Louisiana Heron. It can be found in estuaries along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, in inland freshwater marshes in Florida.