Black-crowned night herons in Hawaii


I have photographed black-crowned night herons in Alberta and British Columbia, and for the second time now, in Hawaii.  While they are not terribly shy on the mainland, they are practically gregarious on the islands.  The term night heron comes from their tendency to eat after dusk, but on Hawaii, I have always found them foraging during the day.  It seems that they have forgotten who they are when off continent.

When I researched the Hawaiian population, it seems my observations were right on.  The Hawaiian Department of Land and Natural Resources states that these birds are "gregarious" and "diurnal" unlike continental relatives.  It turns out that the night herons are indigenous to the islands and, as such, may have developed their own set of behaviours given isolation from North America.  Regardless of where they live, they are predatory birds that consume a wide variety of prey, both aquatic and terrestrial.

This year has been a banner year for me in photographing juvenile birds.  I continued the trend while visiting Hawaii as I photographed, for the first time, a juvenile black-crowned night heron.  It was at the same pond as the one above; I don't know if the two individuals were from the same family.  You can see my photo of it below.

Juvenile black-crowned night heron

I always enjoy seeing these birds as there is a certain majesty to them.  The long head plumes add an extra degree of mystique.  You can see them in the first photo (a pair of white feathers that are about half the body length).

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

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