Jim,
Jeff Culler, Dave Young, and I were at Hughes Hollow around noon today. We also believe there are 4 juvenile Little Blue Herons there. They appeared to have heavy two-toned bills that slightly tapered down. There is no yellow on the lores. They have greenish yellow legs with no black on the forelegs. The feet are the same color as the legs. The challenging part of this id is when you look at the bottom of page 63 in the big Sibley. The head & bill drawings look very similar.
We also saw the birds acting more like Little Blue Herons than Snowy Egrets. They would stand in one place stalking their prey. One caught a large frog or toad.
Jeff took a series of pictures of the birds.
Joe Hanfman
Columbia, MD
Joe Hanfman
Columbia, MD
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "Jim Moore" <>
To:
Sent: Saturday, July 24, 2010 3:24:23 PM
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Mont. Co., Hughes Hollow: 4 juv. LB Herons, 1 YCNH; Mute Swan; Wash. Co. White Ibis
This morning I saw four juvenile Little Blue Herons and a juvenile
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron at Hughes Hollow. Sibley notes that some
juvenile Little Blue Herons and juvenile Snowy Egrets show "extreme
similarity" at this time of year. I believe these are Little Blue
Herons and not Snowy Egrets because they show uniformly dull greenish
legs and feet, and because on at least one bird I could see the small,
dark tips on the outer primaries (on the folded wing) -- which is
diagnostic for juvenile Little Blue Heron. Also, one bird was foraging
in the water with some Great Egrets. It had the slow, plodding style
with neck extended that I would associate with LBHE, rather than the
quicker movements of a Snowy. I took some photos which can be viewed here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35716495@N08/sets/72157624447884113/with/4823974913/
(If the letters "at" appear in the link, you will have to replace these
with the "at sign" to get the link to work-- "at signs" are sometimes
auto replaced on this list for various reasons).
Unfortunately, the birds were preening so actively that I did not manage
to get a single full profile shot! But you can see the uniformly
greenish legs and feet, and I believe on some of the photos you can just
see the dark primary tips.
OTHER BIRDS: there was a juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron roosting
with the juvenile Little Blue Herons. At Riley's Lock, I finally got a
decent look at the swan that has been hanging around for the past
several weeks several hundred yards upstream. It is a Mute Swan. Up in
Washington County, I did manage to see the juvenile White Ibis at the
previously described location around noon. Thanks to all who provided
updates on the status of the bird!
Good birding!
Jim Moore
Rockville, Maryland
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