UPDATE: Thanks to the keen eye and birding expertise of Ted Jennings (link here), I’ve learned something new as a result of this post. My original identification of this post’s featured feathered friend was an immature Little Blue Heron. This was based on the overall white coloring, dark legs and the two toned bill…and not seeing the markers for the other options pointed out in the original post. Ted brought up the possibility of something I had not considered, the much rarer white morph of the Reddish Egret. They have very similar markings to the immature Little Blue, but are a bit larger and more distinctly have, a “shaggy” feathering on their head and neck. That fits my specimen perfectly! Updated my post accordingly – THANK YOU TED!! It is a good day whenever I can grow my birding knowledge.
Greetings everyone! I have been a bit out of pocket since we started or migration south just before the start of the New Year. Always a hassle to get from overnight camp to the next stop and then the connectivity can be sketchy, although, admittedly I must admit, Internet access via phone or local Wi-Fi is much better than just a few years ago. Guessing a surprise benefit of the Covid years. From the trip perspective, we have been lucky enough to meet up with some friends of ours who moved out to Benson, AZ. Always good to catch up on the latest activities in person – novel idea eh? (for the record, I am NOT a Facebook user). Birding has also been good, now up 67 birds for our Average Year ’24 which includes 5 lifers so far – that means 5 more posts coming out say sometime in late 2027 hehehe. Some of us at Intrigued have an embarrassing large backlog. There has been one glaring negative to this point (and likely to carry well into next week)…IT’S COLD! I know, shocking to hear someone from the Midwest say that in January, but remember we travel south to get away from the heartland tundra. We are not ruling out that we were voodoo cursed while in New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl back in 2002. Ever since then, we have brought unseasonably cold weather to whatever destination we vacation – just ask Texas about the ice storm they had a few years back. So far we have just missed snow in New Mexico and bracing for freezing temps the next couple of nights here in Arizona ugh. It is what it is, but the birds have still been active and my brother Ron is flying down here today to add to his checklist – writing this post as we wait for his flight to arrive.
To warm up a bit, thought I would feature an encounter from last year’s human migration.
Hit the jump to see a few more shots of this “Electric Blue”.
Some of you may actually recognize this particular spot. Over the year’s I have featured many posts featuring our finds at South Padre Island Bird Viewing and Nature Center. One of my top 5 birding locations of all the places we’ve birded to this point. Want to experience a good swath of the birds hanging out in southern Texas – this is the place. Their nice boardwalks will keep you out of the muck, the times we have been there have been pretty much bugless and best of all, the inhabitants are fairly tolerant of bustling humans. Conditions for a photographer’s paradise.
On the far side of the center, the boardwalks crosses between the heavier reeded banks to the right and a larger, more open pond/backwater area. The log you see here is in the middle of that open water … and I absolutely love it. Not only is it a favorite perch for the resident birds, it sits to the north which allows you to get detail especially on the white birds that you usually fight the blowouts on. On this visit I found a Little Blue Heron – corrected white morph Reddish Egret, nicely posing.
Could you tell it was also a very windy day ha! I could have stood there and shot the day away – well, based on the digital card contents, I’d say that was true. Of all the shots I poured through, the one below is my favorite. What do you get when a Heron sticks its talon in a light socket…
I just really like all the flow in the plumes that typically gets lost as they hunt closer to the water’s edge.
This is probably a good time to clear up a common confusion between the large white waders. There are several tall, primarily white birds that roam the various bodies of water in the US. The Great Egret, the Snowy Egret, the Little Blue Heron and the newly made aware option, the white morph Reddish Egret are four that tend to look similar without a closer look.
Great Egrets are significantly larger than the other two (link here). In case you do not have a size reference, look for the greenish coloring on their lores (area between the eye and the bill). The Snowy Egrets are easy to tell if you can see their feet – they wear yellow galoshes wherever they go (link here). Feet in the water…try to spot the yellow on the lores. Then there is the Little Blue Heron. It is the name that throws people off. In their adult form, they are predominantly blue and not white (link here). The immatures are white. You can ID them by the absence of the bill/feet coloring mentioned earlier for the other two options. I happen to always look for the two-toned bill. Then there is the white morph Reddish Egret which admittedly, wasn’t really up to speed on. They look very similar to the immature Little Blues however they are slightly larger, have a thicker two-toned bill, darker legs and more importantly shaggy feathering on their head and neck. The shot below shows all those features.
Immature’s Little Blues and white morph Reddish Egrets have a pinkish bill starting at the base that transitions to darker near the tip. If you need a visual, think of the old glass “Bar Birds” as I call it that would tip back and forth into the glass – in this case filled with ink (I might be dating myself on that reference). From a behavior perspective, Little Blues are far more active hunting than Great Egrets and Snowies. Great Egrets pretty much sit there and wait for food to be delivered. Snowies will work a little bit if they have to – swish their feet around or hop a bit to a better spot. Little Blues will pants off dance off to win their meals. Reddish Egrets will absolutely tear up the dance floor, but tend to raise their wings to produce a shadow on the water. Our specimen here was taking a dance break! Brad actually had a post with a side by side comparison of the Snowy and the immature Little Blue (link here).
Ron’s plane just landed, so need go. Apologies for my absence off and on for awhile as we move our basecamps. Brad is all ready to fill the gaps. Take care.
A big thanks to Ted again for the assist on the post – really appreciate it!
Wildlife Intrigued 
In order to get all your lifers and other great sightings out in our life time can I suggest multiple species per post?
Just kidding B, it’s hard to change style, but you always tease us with your tales of ‘5 more lifers’ and I’m thinking ‘well, what are they?’
Keep warm. We have had huge amounts of rainfall and a lot of the country is under water!
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I just might have to double up or get my ass in gear and up my productivity, especially now that I am up to 11 new lifers already in this young year. Our hometown is currently getting hammered with snow – last I looked 8-9″ and expecting more this weekend. Fortunately, we have only been hit with one day of snow so far on our southern trip – unseasonably cold though which has damped the fun a bit. Take care B. and don’t wait too long to start building that ark!
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I love the spiky, punk hairdo.
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Johnny Rotten eat your heart out!
We’re the flowers
In the dustbin
We’re the poison
In your human machine
Take care Tim and hopefully you weathered the snow storm out your way.
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We only got a dusting of snow at our house, but other foothills and mountains got decent amounts of snow.
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Fortunately for us being here, our home is got hammered with the white stuff and the low temps.
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Fabulous! Love the different looks.
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Thank you Michele! Thankfully I had a very accommodating subject. Appreciate you dropping in.
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You are welcome. Wonderful!
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Great shots. And… just a suggestion on the bird ID. Ask around the area if there are Reddish Egrets. That part of Texas can have them along the coast. There is a chance this could be a Reddish Egret, white morph. Very rare, and if so you win the 2024 contest hands down. We have found a few long the Florida coastline. Look at my post tomorrow and you will see a Reddish Egret in normal coloring. Feathers, bill, head, and chest plumage is pretty distinct.
You my friend may have hit the jackpot. 😁😁😁
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You are ABSOLUTELY right Ted! Got back from birding Arizona today, noticed your comment and did some reading. Very good eye. The shaggy head and neck feathering matching the description perfectly. Updated my post accordingly. Really appreciate the assist and introducing me to an option I hadn’t even considered. Well done!
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Not many people even know about Reddish, no less a white morph. Probably one of those birds you have to see enough to spot them. Juveniles, even red, are easily confused with Little Blues. I just did that last week 😂😂. Hope you get some extra bonus points.
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Trying to squeeze some extra points out of my brother Ron, but so far he is resisting ha. I’ll be on the lookout for this morph from now on. Take care and thanks again.
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Now that you have been doing the ‘civilized contest’ for a while time to fine tune the rules 😂😂.
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Ha, I think this latest trip has already added new rules to our list!
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Looking at the “windswept” bird makes me think of a young Beethoven on the conductor’s stand waiting to begin. 😁🤫😳
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That is a perfect visual for our white morph Red (had to do some correcting on the post thanks to Ted’s keen eye above). I need to photoshop in a tiny stand and a stick to complete the picture…or should I say orchestra ha. Thanks for dropping in Jerry – hope to start getting caught up on your posts as soon as we make it to our next basecamp. Take care!
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That is such a perfect place for photos, with the log and the green and the water. I would be there everyday 🙂
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Definitely agree Sandra. Always brings a smile when we make our way there and that log is still there. Now if I can just train the birds to parade across it, I’ll be good to go ha. Appreciate you dropping in and hope your travels are going well – so far we have hit unseasonably cold temps here in Arizona.
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Bluish or Reddish, very nice photos. Can we have one at Intrigued HQ?
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Certainly – we just need to find one that is willing to relocate from their sunny winter homes…and even more crazy, move to IL!
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Maybe the new Intrigued Nature Dome at HQ will be OK for one.
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Shhhhh, we don’t want anyone to know that we will soon be able to bird right from our office chairs.
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Great post on dancing egrets, herons and photographers.
Kudos to Ted on the identification. It seems he and I may wade in similar waters. We’ve seen a few white morph Reddish Egrets on our Florida Gulf Coast over the years. Always causes us to do a double-take.
Hoping the New Year is off to a Happy Start.
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Thank you Wally! Ted is definitely down in your territory – at least in the same state. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for this new morph. The new year has started out a LOT colder than expected. We assume tundra weather at home, but these cold temps in Arizona completely suck ha. Warmer weather on the way, so hopefully we’ll have better days ahead. Appreciate you dropping in.
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Thanks for the interesting post and wonderful photos of a bird I have never seen, no matter what outfit it’s wearing.
I hope your travels are going well but fear that you won’t be spared the Arctic blast that is about to descend on us. Stay warm and safe!
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Glad you enjoyed the Reddish Tanja (now that I know what it was ha). We definitely got hit with some unexpected weather on our way out here (currently in Vegas). We kept telling ourselves if was far worse back home – takes a bit out sting of having to wear coats out here! Thanks for coming by, hopefully you are not being hit too bad by Mr. Winter.
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It was very chilly for 3 days last weekend, but it’s more seasonal now. I felt very sorry for bird and other creatures out there–they don’t have an extra coat to wear!
Keep enjoying your journey.
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So far so good ..well, now that it is a little warmer, but we’ll probably start heading back to the tundra early next week. Not looking forward to that.
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I was right there at that log, just 5 days ago. Wonderful place, and you (and Ted) nailed it, spotting the white morph Reddish. What a wonderful show he put on for you. We cut our trip short, and have returned home, to prepare our Texas homes for the coming multi-day freeze. But, as my hubby points out, it’s only 6 hours away, we can go back when warmer weather returns.
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I thought you might recognize that spot – like a magnet for good photographers! Definitely appreciate the assist from Ted – ironically the feature I liked most about the shot (the neck plumes) was the one that belongs to the Reddish. Sorry to hear your trip was cut short, we apologize for bringing the cold with us as we crossed through your great state. Even dragged it through Arizona ugh. You are definitely within reach whenever you want the SPI experience .. especially if the Mangrove (Yellow) Warbler shows up – I haven’t checked lately if it is still down there. Take care – we are currently trapped in Vegas (maybe not the best word ha). Have to deal with some actually good issues that popped up and then we will head out next week. Meanwhile we’ll just have to suffer through the long days of birding and the tiring nightlife while we are here hehehehe. Take care.
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Not one smidgeon of sympathy for you! Can’t wait to hear the story behind your “good issues”. Hope your bird encounters continue plentiful and intriguing!
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Hahaha .. I understand. Birding has been a lot of fun this trip – lots of new places and a good heaping of lifers – will hopefully be able to back to consistent blogging and responding (and of course, reading) soon – just so much going on from the time we wake up to the time we collapse in bed. Great content for future posts coming your way!
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Love the talon in a light socket shot. Hilarious! You’re lucky Ted told you it might be a morph. Figuring out “normal” plumage can be difficult enough.
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Yes, very appreciative of Ted’s assist on this one. As far as Reddish goes, this one was definitely giving me some good looks, as mentioned, that species are very active (dare I say hyper) hunters. Appreciate you dropping by and I hope to get caught up on the blogs I follow as soon as things settle down on our trip south. Take care!
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