Last Green Heron of 2022

Though Green Herons will spend the summers here raising their families, they prefer warmer climes during our colder months. I had pretty much stopped seeing them this season until I stumbled upon this fella.

As Green Herons are wont to do, this one had its neck in "retraction mode", giving it an un-heron-like appearance. (My guess is that this is the primary reason they're sometimes misidentified.)

The heron is also less colorful than most Green Herons I encounter. I wonder if this could be a juvenile that hasn't quite gotten to its adult plumage. (I also wonder if an inexperienced juvenile might be a little late in picking up on the cues to migrate.)

October 20, 2022 at Duke Farms
Photo 250355422, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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