Herons and Ibises
July 13th, 2010
In past summers, I've seen numerous herons and ibises wading close to shore from the Pea Island trail. This year, due to lack of rainfall, that area was dried up and unappealing to them and most of them waded far away from me and my camera. Thus, most of my heron photos were of birds in flight.
These are all common species in the salt marshes of Cape Hatteras. You can scarcely visit Pea Island in summer without spotting some of each of them.
Great Egret
A characteristic bird of Hatteras--big, numerous, and not particularly timid. They can even be seen wading in wet ditches along roadsides.
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
He of the golden slippers. Snowy Egrets look a lot like Great Egrets, from a distance. They're actually about half the size.
Tricolored Heron
White Ibis
A quite strange-looking bird up close--and one you'd expect more in the tropics than in North Carolina! The sharply delineated black wingtips are key to identifying White Ibises in flight, even at a glance.
White Ibis
The dark birds in front are juvenile White Ibises. An adult is flying behind them.
July 13th, 2010
In past summers, I've seen numerous herons and ibises wading close to shore from the Pea Island trail. This year, due to lack of rainfall, that area was dried up and unappealing to them and most of them waded far away from me and my camera. Thus, most of my heron photos were of birds in flight.
These are all common species in the salt marshes of Cape Hatteras. You can scarcely visit Pea Island in summer without spotting some of each of them.
Great Egret
A characteristic bird of Hatteras--big, numerous, and not particularly timid. They can even be seen wading in wet ditches along roadsides.
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
He of the golden slippers. Snowy Egrets look a lot like Great Egrets, from a distance. They're actually about half the size.
Tricolored Heron
White Ibis
A quite strange-looking bird up close--and one you'd expect more in the tropics than in North Carolina! The sharply delineated black wingtips are key to identifying White Ibises in flight, even at a glance.
White Ibis
The dark birds in front are juvenile White Ibises. An adult is flying behind them.
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