Tri-colored Heron

Description:

A medium-sized, slender heron of the southeastern United States, the Tricolored Heron was formerly known as the Louisiana Heron. It is a medium-large, long-legged, long-necked heron with a long pointed yellowish or greyish bill with a black tip. The legs and feet are dark. Adults have a blue-grey head, neck, back and upperwings, with a white line along the neck. The belly is white. Tricolored Heron stalks its prey in shallow or deeper water, often running as it does so. It eats fish, crustaceans, reptiles, and insects.

Habitat:

The area had several small ponds with dunes near the coastal beach. These small ponds were near the destroyed boardwalk, but a new boardwalk was under construction. Sea Rim State Park consists of 4141.1 acres of Gulf coast beach and marshland in Jefferson County, 10 miles west of Sabine Pass.

Notes:

Sea Rim State Park is a 4,141-acre (1,676 ha) state park in southeast Texas. The park is located on the Gulf of Mexico in southern Jefferson County, south of Port Arthur and just west of Sabine Pass. The park was closed for several years due to extensive damage from Hurricanes Rita (2005) and Ike (2008). The park has recently re-opened but currently has very limited resources. Texas Parks and Wildlife was provided $2 million for the recovery of Sea Rim by the 81st Legislature.