Immature Black-crowned Night-heron Hangout

November 16, 2022 ~ This is the second of three posts on the birds I spent time with around the Swan Lake Boat Ramp, off Bay Avenue, in Freeport Texas (I posted the map, here). Spending most of a day in one very small location offered the opportunity to see the birds in different poses and different activities. Which is good, because during the day, Black-crowned Night-Herons… usually just sort of stand there, half asleep.

Black-crowned Night-heron world range map, courtesy of Wikipedia
(Click on any photo once to enlarge in a new window; close that window to return here.)

The Black-crowned Night-heron, Nycticorax nycticorax, is the most populous and common heron world-wide, with gaps only in the harshest deserts and the craggiest islands of Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea. They are colony birds, and tend to collect together even outside the mating season. The BCNH needs flat wetlands, and is happy in fresh, brackish and salt water. The sub-groups that do migrate are short to medium distance migrants, generally only moving far enough in the winter to avoid frozen water. They are opportunistic feeders, eating almost anything that walks, crawls, slithers or swims; they even eat carrion and garbage. And, true to their name, they are most active at dusk and during the night, when they hunt the same riparian habitats that other types of herons do during the day.

Immature Black-crowned Night-heron showing black cape and yellow feet
1/2500 sec. f/5.6 ISO 2000
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR

Shush. I know it’s another butt shot, but just look at those feet! While most of the colors of the BCNH are quite subtle, their bright feet are a stand-out. The belly and neck are pale gray, the chin creamy, the wings are medium gray, and they have a black cape and crown. There are alternate color patterns: the Eurasian BCNH has a pure white belly, and the Dusky BCNH in South America is almost entirely dark gray-brown.

Immature Black-crowned Night-heron has been fishing
1/2500 sec. f/5.6 ISO 2000
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR

The Heron Conservation organization provides some detail on the heron’s changing appearance as they mature. As fledglings, their eyes are yellow-orange, their upper bill is grayish, and their lower bill is creamy yellow. During their second year, the eyes become orange, the upper bill darkens to black, and the lower develops a black tip. When they reach maturity at two years of age, their eyes are deep red and their upper and lower bills are solid black.

Immature Black-crowned Night-heron
1/2500 sec. f/5.6 ISO 2500
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR

This juvenile took off and followed “the big kids” along the edge of the lagoon. The juvenile birds start out nearly solid medium brown, with an overall “falling stars” pattern of little white triangles (very similar to the YCNH). This bird is changing from that fledgling plumage to the lighter and more uniform wings and body of the adult; you can see that his black crown is just emerging, while his cape is still nonexistent.

The gang, hanging out at the boat dock
1/3200 sec. f/5.6 ISO 2000
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR

The BCNH is just a little taller and heavier than the Yellow-crowned Night-heron, and definitely has a stockier body, shorter legs, thicker neck, and flatter head. Where the BCNH’s narrow long head plume feathers are all white, the YCNH has plumes in which some feathers are white and others black. All About Birds provides a side-by-side comparison, here. So, I was seeing one first-year bird, and several second-year birds; none had the black bill and deep red eyes that characterize the mature birds. This was a small colonial group of six to eight (they kept flying around) immatures, drowsing along the edges of the boat ramp lagoon.

Low and slow approach
1/2500 sec. f/5.6 ISO 1250
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR

One bird landed as if in slow motion, coming to a graceful stop on the concrete slab. The hardy yellow asters stretching their blooms out into November are a cheerful touch. I tried to identify them beyond Family Asteraceae… but that’s a hobby for my next life 😊

Immature Black-crowned Night-heron getting fluffy
1/2500 sec. f/5.6 ISO 1600
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR

Seeing all the young birds without adult supervision made me think again of the observation that younger birds are less wary than the adults, making them exciting subjects for birdwatching in the fall. The mature adults were probably exercising a bit more caution, snoozing further from human activity and/or hidden under better cover.

Woops, changed my mind…
1/2500 sec. f/5.6 ISO 1250
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR

Another bird approached from across the Intercoastal and headed toward me, without understanding I was there. When he finally realized he was headed into the arms of a human with a long lens, he banked quickly to find another perch.

…think I’m just gonna go over here
1/2500 sec. f/5.6 ISO 1250
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR

I love the rich café-latte coloring of their feathers.

Immature Black-crowned Night-heron pals
1/2500 sec. f/5.6 ISO 1600
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR

While the boat dock lagoon isn’t very picturesque, the sandy color of the scrap concrete is almost a perfect match for the original sand of the beach, which, in turn, is an almost perfect match for the creamy bellies of these birds. The dredged-up rise at the end of the lagoon also protects the birds from winds out of the north, which can be brisk during the winter. The little haven, with generally smooth water from which to fish for dinner, is the perfect teenaged hangout.