Green Backed Heron (Juvenile)

I took this image on or about August 10th, 2006. It was in an area I normally check for wildlife. At first I missed seeing it, since it was standing perfectly still. But the scene looked odd to me, so I double checked it and thats when I saw it. I took two shots with my camera (one turned out blurry.)


I had no idea what this species was. I have a Birds of Iowa field guide, but the Green Backed Heron isn't in there. They apparently breed in Iowa, but are not year long residents. I am probably going to have to find a better bird book, I used to have a copy Roger Tory Petersons Guide to Eastern United States. That book was great and I may have to purchase another copy. Thanks to Dennis Hill for knowing who to ask in making the id.

Blue Herons

I had mentioned in a previous post that Blue Heron's are somewhat shy creatures and that last year it took me weeks to get an acceptable picture of one. Well in the last couple of weeks I have gotten numerous images of them. These are the best, some of the others are so so, and others are down right blurry.

The first image was on August 4th and it is on "Squirrel Island" which I now sneak up on with my camera armed and ready. These were all taken along the bike path behind my employer in Johnston, Iowa. All but the first image was taken last week, unfortunatly I don't have the exact times or dates since I forgot to set the time and date on my camera when I changed batteries.

Enjoy, Terry