The little blue heron is the Rodney Dangerfield of the birding

The Rodney Dangerfield of Birds

There used to be a comedian named Rodney Dangerfield whose shtick was that he never got any respect. The little blue heron is the Rodney Dangerfield of the birding world.

This may be because, at first glance, little blue herons seem to be pretty boring birds. Granted, uk canada goose iridescent blue and purple plumage adorns their slender, graceful physiques, making them one of our daintiest and prettiest wading birds. But here’s where the boring part begins. Like many other wading birds, they live and nest in subtropical and tropical swamps in the Gulf States of the southern US through the Caribbean Sea and south to Peru and Paraguay. They also stalk their prey just like other wading birds moving methodically and stabbing out with their sharp bills canada goose to spear quarries that swim past them. They eat pretty much everything that other wading birds eat fish, canada goose outlet canada frogs, crustaceans, small rodents, and insects. Then, along with a bunch of other little blue herons and you guessed it other wading birds, they build their nests out of long sticks high in trees on islands in the middle of lakes, ponds, and canada goose outlet store uk marshes.

Even the bird guides find it difficult to say anything really interesting about the little blue heron. Here are a few «featured» comments about this bird:

Named for its slate blue plumage, the little blue blends in well with dark marsh plants.

The little blue heron’s middle toe has «teeth» along one side and is used as a comb to scratch its upper neck, throat, and top and sides of its head.

The little blue heron is not a very vocal bird.

The little blue heron often follows farmers as they are plowing fields and then grabs the canada goose outlet parka insects that are disturbed by the plow.

Another major problem is canadian goose jacket that little blue herons always take a backseat to two related species the louder and raunchier great blue heron and the cuter and funnier snowy egret which are usually around at the same time. During its first year on earth, the little blue heron also looks exactly like a snowy egret completely white and about the same size. Young little blues even join in with flocks canada goose outlet uk of snowies so canada goose jacket outlet they don’t stick out like sore thumbs and get gobbled up by the first predators that happen to saunter canada goose black friday sale by.

Appearance wise, this also puts little blues in the unenviable position of having to canada goose clearance directly compete with the famous golden slippers of the snowy egrets which are the most notable field marks in the birding world. To canada goose black friday sale uk canada goose outlet make matters worse, little blues are more successful at catching fish when they are juveniles and mixed in with snowy flocks than when they turn blue and go off on their own as adults.

Perhaps the cheap canada goose uk worst slam against the little canada goose coats on sale blue actually helped protect the species when other wading birds were being canada goose outlet killed off by hunters for the millinery trade during the late nineteenth century. Since adult little blues don’t have any long showy plumes for use in ladies’ hats, hunters ignored them!

Finally, there’s the little blue heron’s scientific name Egretta caerulea which means «cerulean egret.» It seems canada goose outlet jackets the little blue heron is actually an egret in disguise. During this time, he has published more than 200 magazine articles and 5,000 photographs. His credits include the 2003 Wildlife Photographer of the Year, BBC Wildlife Magazine, Outdoor Photographer, National Wildlife, Audubon, Outside, Nature’s Best, Travel/Holiday, Time/Life Publications, Sierra Club, Popular Photography, and Petersen’s Photographic. Throughout his career, canada goose outlet online uk Budd has shared his love of photography and nature by presenting seminars, workshops, and field trips nationwide, including Staff Naturalist for cheap canada goose the Umstead Hotel and Conference Center in Cary, North Carolina, Artist in Residence at The Ford Plantation in Savannah, Georgia, North American canada goose outlet in usa Nature Photography Association (NANPA), New England Council of Camera Clubs (NECCC), National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, Massachusetts Audubon Society, and Maine Island Workshops. In addition, he has conducted surveys of wild bird habitats and breeding bird populations throughout the United States.

In addition to writing https://www.kabbalah-arizal.nl books, Budd is currently teaching ecology, environmental science, birding, and photography courses at Florida State University and the Tallahassee Senior Center while writing a weekly Birding canada goose outlet reviews Column for the Tallahassee Democrat Daily Newspaper. He also is serving as canada goose outlet toronto factory Vice President of the Apalachee Audubon Society.