Wading birds like herons, egrets, and spoonbills will always save the day when you just want to get some pictures of birds. They stand out in the open, don’t move around as much as small birds, are big, and always make striking portraits. Recently, I had a very pleasant day of bird photography at Laguna Madre that included looks at dozens of waterbirds, seeing several herons catch fish, and even spotting a Wood Stork.
This Great Blue Heron caught a huge fish! It looks like it might be some species of carp.
The Great Blue Heron is our largest heron species and a formidable predator. Tricolored Herons are a bit smaller and have a longer bill. They tend to stalk through wetlands with a hunched posture and are recognized by their white belly and long bill.
A Tricolored Heron stretches its wings.
Compared to the Tricolored, the bill of the Yellow-crowned Night Heron is much more stout. It uses that smaller, thicker bill to catch and eat crabs and other crustaceans.
Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron.
One of the smallest heron species is also one of the most beautiful. The Green Heron can be seen in a wide variety of wetlands in much of the country and is a common bird in south Texas.
The Green Heron used to be called the Green-backed Heron on account of its jade green upperparts.
Wood Storks pass through the area but I rarely get a chance to photograph them. This one caught a pretty big fish!
A Wood Stork with a nice catch.
The prettiest bird in the marshes and lagoons of South Texas is the Roseate Spoonbill. Although sometimes referred to as flamingos on account of their lovely pink, white, and orange plumage, Roseate Spoonbills are much more closely related to Ibises.
A beautiful Roseate Spoonbill showing the rare pink color of its wings.
These beautiful birds use their oddly shaped bill to catch crustaceans and other wetland creatures.
A Roseate Spoonbill cools off in the lagoon.
Although I didn’t see so many shorebirds at the lagoon, Spotted Sandpipers were around.
A nice close look at a Spotted Sandpiper.
Of course, migration is also in full swing in south Texas so I have to include at least one shot of a migrant that is passing through the area right now.
Lots of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds migrate through south Texas.