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Project Noah Nature School
Ardea herodias
Dry, arid Arizona climate. Near canyons and red rocks. Was spotted relaxing in a pond on a golf course.
At first glance this looked to me like a Great Blue Heron. After watching this bird a while longer, I was unsure. His coloring is slightly different. I would love to know what others think!
Thank you all for validating my original thoughts about the GBH! I think you are right and I have updated the spotting to reflect the comments. I wonder if this is indeed a juvenile, like ForestDragon mentioned?
Great shots, Emily- I can almost feel the heat and dryness and the water looks so inviting !. It is so nice seeing spottings of creatures in their environment; it makes one better understand their habitat and living circumstances - very nice.
Definitely a great blue heron. No other bird in N. America and especially in Arizona look anything like this one here. Great shots of it to. I like your in flight pictures.
I believe this is a Great Blue Heron. It is probably a 1st year juvenile. That's why the color seems a bit different and it doesn't have the plumes on the head or the longer feathers on the chest.
Thanks adwildlife! They are truly magnificent to see in flight! I swear they look prehistoric! My gut is telling me GBH, but I thought I would see what the PN community thought! Thanks for the input!
Great captures. This is one of the greatest birds to see in flight. I don't see the yellow coloring around the face a Tricolored Heron usually has, so I would stick with Great Blue on this one.
Spotted on Jun 12, 2012
Submitted on Jun 14, 2012
