Balancing Act

I saw this gangly juvenile Tricolored Heron last June on (of course) Pinckney Island NWR in Hilton Head, SC. He was moving cautiously down a branch that had fallen in the water, flapping his wings to balance and never once letting his gaze move from the tiny fish swimming below.

Painting 131, Balancing Act - A Juvenile Tricolored Heron Learns to Fish

(Oil Pastel, 12x16 Sennelier Oil Pastel Paper)

I bought Sennelier oil pastels today with birthday money my parents gave me. I'm in love. They are so luscious it's like painting with lipstick...or creamy butter (yum). They glide across the paper leaving pure pigment behind and blend easily with a smudge stick.

There are no words for this one...

...because I laugh every time I look at it.

Mr. Wide Jaws is funny enough, but it’s the contemptuous look on his sibling that really cracks me up. I always imagine “Nice, Junior…” running through her head, followed by "you're so immature."

A young Tricolored Heron sticking out his tongue with jaws open wide!

(Photo from June 13, 2010--Pinckney Island NWR, Hilton Head, SC)

Your eyes are like cherries...

...which for must of us would not be a complement, but for our beautiful Tricolored Heron, it fits perfectly! It also fits perfectly with today because it's George Washington's birthday...and we all know about George and his cherry tree!

A beautiful Tricolored Heron stalks the waters at Ibis Pond on Pinckney Island NWR in Hilton Head, SC.

With all the juvenile Tricolored Heron photos I've posted, you know there have to be a few adults around! This adult was across the mote fishing in the shallows. I was sitting up on the hill watching him. The heat was intense that day...so bright and wonderful. The humidity was outrageous too...to be in the heat and humidity now! (These photos are from June 15, 2010.)

The baby Tricolored Heron with the pale bill...

This little Tricolored Heron had two nest mates. Of the three he was the only one with a completely yellow/pale bill (actually, he was the only Tricolored Heron on the island with a completely yellow/pale bill). At first I thought he might be the youngest of the brood, and his bill was still pale because of that, but I looked it up in The Birds of North America Online and found that by day 11 the upper mandible is dark gray. It also says that by day 24 the head, neck and body are covered with reddish feathers, so it looks as if our little guy is at least 24 days old. I guess our little Tricolored Heron is just a bit different...sort of like Rudolf (but I'm not going to call him that!). Are there any experts out there that know about pale bills on Tricolored Herons?

A young Tricolored Heron with a pale bill.

When I first found him in the camera's lens I did a double-take. None of the other Tricolored Herons of similar size had yellow/pale bills. He was beautiful and I kept coming back to him (and I took many more photos of him than the other two because he was so interesting).

His bill was a bit smaller than the other two herons' bills, and he might be a touch smaller too, but mostly all three were close to the same size.

"Pale Bill" and his two nestlings with dark gray bills.

I still have several fun photos from Pinckney Island in Hilton Head, SC to post from our trip last June, so I'll keep popping them in now and then. These were photographed on 6/13/2010, and it was very warm!! (Click here for all of the 2010 Pinckney Island posts.)

Painting a juvenile Tricolored "Hair Nation" Heron

Painting 109 - Tricolored Heron in Profile; the Beat Goes On...

Watercolor, 12x16 Arches Cold Pressed 140 lb Paper

I knew when I saw this juvenile Tricolored Heron through my camera lens he would someday end up in a painting. The image of his profile and incredible tufts of downy feathers bubbled around in my brain for a long time. At first I saw him as a crazy acrylic...something with lots of energy to match that crazy "head of hair," but slowly it morphed into a detailed watercolor. The downy stray baby feathers on the top of his head were so airy and breezy and soft. I could see them in my mind's eye floating with the gentle puffs of sea air on that very hot day, and watercolor seemed the only way to capture that feel. This was the first baby heron I saw on Pinckney Island this summer (the post is here), so he was special. There were lots of other juveniles with cool hairdos, but this guy stood out. You can just tell he's a Rock 'n' Roller!

Pencil sketch of a juvenile Tricolored Heron

Now that I'm not afraid to sketch and paint in public, a whole new world has opened for me. I sketched this guy during an hour and half hockey practice...then again the next day during an hour and half tennis clinic--that's three hours of drawing time previously I would have spent reading. During that time I probably erased and redrew him 4 or 5 times. I was aiming for accuracy and wanted to get the angle of the head and bill just right. Drawing and redrawing helps me get familiar with the subject of the watercolor painting, and I found I use the sketches to solve problems I anticipate while painting. When I first started drawing this guy, I had no idea how to render the feathers on top of his head without making them look like brush bristles. Playing with the graphite, erasing, darkening, etc., allowed me to see the subtle shading that was there and helped me learn how to bring dimension to the painting. I only use sketches for detailed watercolors...my acrylic paintings are spur of the moment and fast.

p.s. I did get a new scanner, so it can handle the 12x16 format, but I'm still struggling with an exact scan using the scanning software. The original of this guy is nicer...the baby down is finer and not quite as yellow... Matty just walked in and saw the scan and said, "That's no where near as good as the original..." Well, I'll keep working on it!

This painting is part of the 100 Painting Challenge. I'm doing it for my second year. If you're an artist and want to join, visit the 100 Paintings Challenge Blog.

Need a little green?

When it's snowing around here it's fun. White and bright, the dancing, tumbling snowflakes bring excitement and beauty--and energy, but when it stops snowing, a thick grey cloud cover usually moves in and seems to drain the color from everything in its path. Although snow is still on the ground, we haven't seen any sparkly little snowflakes for a few days and the anticipation and energy that comes with a good snow has all but fizzled. One to two inches of snow is on the way tonight (yeah!), but right now, it's cold and colorless, so let's go green until the white arrives!

A young Tricolored Heron waits in his nest for his next meal. I took this photo on June 10, 2010 at the rookery on Pinckney Island in Hilton Head, SC (my favorite place to be in early June). It was so hot and steamy and wonderful that day...the sun was intense, the insects were loud, and the thousands of birds on nests were even louder.

I see you too!

If I lived in Hilton Head or anywhere near Pinckney Island, I would be useless. Day after day I would just prowl around Ibis Pond watching, painting and photographing birds. It's Heaven...

Oh no! Is something stuck in his throat?

Nahh...I just photographed him mid "gular flutter." Since birds don't sweat like we do, they need another way to dissipate the heat building up in their bodies. Most simply pant, but others, such as herons, pelicans, cormorants, nighthawks, owls, and even blue jays have the ability to vibrate the muscles in their upper throats (gular area) to speed evaporation from their respiratory tract through their open mouths. When the temp is pushing 100 degrees, you get to see a lot of gular fluttering at the rookery!!

Ack...I could just kiss that wiry-looking little head!!

For young Tricolored Herons, it’s all about the spike…

Birding Hilton Head Island, SC and Pinckney Island at the Ibis Pond Rookery

...continued from the Snowy Egret feeding nestlings post.

Spiked head feathers were all the rage among the young Tricolored Herons at the Ibis Pond rookery at Pinckney Island!

I'm young, and I'm cool...

...sometimes. Other time I just look like I'm growing grass out of the top of my head.

(His brother seems to agree.)

...spiky head feathers or not, there's no getting past the beautiful structure of their faces and the intense look in their eyes that stirs up thoughts of a walking and squawking prehistoric beast.

I spike, therefore I am.

These two Tricolored Herons stood strong in their nest as they waited for their parents to come and feed them.

I was still sitting up on the hill watching the Snowy Egret feed the babies when these two Tricolored Herons caught my eye. Their nest nest was down by the water in a willow tree--again on our side of the mote. The mama and papa visited them several times while I watched and photographed the Snowy Egrets. I was using my 70-200mm lens with the 2x extender, but considering how far away I was and how many leaves I was shooting through, it looks like I had a more powerful lens. I did use the tripod to help with stabilization, but mostly it was the Nikon and The Force that focused past the leaves and did all the work.

The Juvenile Tricolored Heron takes a walk!

Birding Hilton Head Island, SC and Pinckney Island at the Ibis Pond Rookery

...continued from the juvenile's first flight post.

As I sat in the grass on the top of the hill and watched the juveniles playing and flying from tree to tree, the mama flew down and landed in the grass about 20 feet from me. The grass was tall and screened her, but I was still amazed she came so close. I had been sitting there watching them for over an hour, so I guess she decided I was no threat. As I was watching her through the camera lens, she became excited and I wondered what was up when suddenly the spiky-headed juvenile from the first post flew into view. Double-luck! She immediately fed him.

Mama Tricolored Heron patiently waits in the grass for her young to join her.

The first (and only) juvenile to fly down to the ground that day was our spiky-headed baby!

...this was the juvenile's first time to fly out of the tree and onto the grass! Very exciting...

The mama walked around the grassy slope a bit with the juvenile following.

...he wasn't too happy and seemed to be only interested in eating!

...but she continued to walk him around. Eventually, she stopped to feed him again, and then she flew away. The juvenile stayed in the grass by himself for a moment or two, but quickly flew back to the tree his sibling was in.

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Juvenile Tricolored Heron takes flight!

Birding Hilton Head Island and Pinckney Island NWR, SC

...continued from Saturday's post of the mama feeding the baby Tricolored Heron

While the first baby Tricolored Heron squawked a bit for food, the second baby Tricolored was busy doing something else...

Baby #2 doesn't have quite the hairdo as Baby #1, but he's still cute with those downy flyaway feathers on top.

...Baby #2 was determined to move and started exercising his wings, flapping and bobbing around.

...soon he was riding up and down on the willowy branch he was using as a perch...

...and then he took flight!

I think this was his first flight because I had been there all morning and had not seen any other flights.

Juvenile Tricolored Heron at the Ibis Pond Rookery

Birding Hilton Head Island and Pinckney Island NWR, SC
In June, Matty, Rick and I spent a week on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. While Matty skimboarded and Rick played tennis, I headed to Pinckney Island to bird. I was there almost every day and have so many cool photos. This first series is of a juvenile Tricolored Heron waiting patiently for his mama or papa to bring him some lunch. He was the first bird I saw when I parked my bike and walked toward the Ibis Pond Rookery. I was shocked because he was on "our" side...not across the alligator mote on the unreachable island in the middle of Ibis Pond. Last year all the nests in the rookery were confined to the tiny island (click here for last year's 15 Pinckney Island posts), but this year, several Tricolored Heron families, Snowy Egret families, and Little Blue Heron families were nesting together in their own little colony on our side of the mote in the small trees near the water. The rookery had expanded...

This juvenile Tricolored Heron had already left the nest, but he was not old enough to fly out to the feeding grounds to find his own meal and still relied on his parents for regurgitated food.

Two of his siblings were hanging out in the treetops with him (they were about 20 feet off the ground, and their empty nest was about 7 feet off the ground). This fellow was getting very excited because he could see his mama or papa approaching...

Food!! Thank goodness...

He wanted more, but mama had other babies to feed...

...and other designs in mind. She seemed to be trying to get him to fly, and she stayed with him for a while, while he flapped his wings.

...eventually she took off and flew over to the other sibling.

In part 2 of this series, a sibling takes flight.

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Three Baby Tricolored Herons at Pinckney Island NWR, SC

Birding on Hilton Head Island and Pinckney Island NWR, SC…continued from Saturday’s post on the Tricolored Herons.
These little fellows were hidden much deeper in the branches than the Little Blue Heron chicks, so I had to work to get my camera to focus in on them (and the photos aren't that great). The baby Tricolored Herons do not have a white color morph like the Little Blues, but they do have a different color pattern than the adults. Immature Tricolored Herons have a chestnut brown head and neck with the scruffiest looking light brown feathers on the top of their heads that you can imagine. Truly, their crazy scruffy little head feathers are adorable and make you fall in love with them at first glance.

They are so well nestled among the green leaves 

it's like we are peaking into a secret little world. 

 

Let's zoom in on those little heads to see their crazy spindly head feathers. 

These three siblings were very sweet and not nearly as active as the Little Bue Heron chicks from the earlier post. Although a little larger than the Little Blue Heron chicks, I think they might have been younger. If I had stopped by a week later I bet they would have been scrambling all over the branches like the Little Blues were.

Tricolored Herons and an Anhinga at Pinckney Island NWR, SC

Birding on Hilton Head Island and Pinckney Island NWR…continued from Thursday’s post on the alligator.

On my second visit to Pinckney Island I was even more excited than the first. This time I knew what was there, and I also knew it was all good, so when I pulled off 278 and hit Happiness Way, exhilaration was what I was feeling. I couldn’t get to Ibis Pond fast enough and didn't even spend any time birding the parking lot area. On my first visit I had not seen any Tricolored Herons, so I assumed they weren’t nesting on the island, but what I didn’t know was I just hadn’t made it to their neighborhood yet. I started the day's trip by revisiting the Snowy Egrets and the Little Blue Herons (and checking for the alligator, who wasn’t there), and while I was standing there trying to decide should I go right or left, a Tricolored Heron coasted in over my head and landed about 20 feet to the right! (I LOVE this place!). I followed him over and found several Tricolored Herons hanging out together. Not too much squabbling, but every now and then a few males would let their presence be known with that funny, nasally moaning sound.

This sweet fellow led me directly to his nest and his mate.

These birds are gorgeous. They are so slim and trim, 

and their feathers are beautiful! 

Birdy bookends. In breeding season their bills are blue, but they

will fade to yellow as the end of the breeding season draws near.

The Tricolored Heron is the only dark heron with a white belly.

The little white topknot  feathers appear during 

breeding season. Such a stylish addition!

This little section of the island was home to a mix of Tricolored Herons, Little Blue Herons, Cattle Egrets, and of course, the ever-present Ibis. I wish I had written down a few more notes about this part of the island because I’m already starting to forget the little details, but I do remember one thing. With the click of that last photo, I backed right into a plant with lots of thorns -- small little razor-sharp thorns that ripped the skin as I tried to pull away and then stayed in the skin until I pulled them out. And…boy, oh boy did it bleed! Twenty-seven in all, at least they came out easily and didn’t hurt that much, but they left a big stinging sensation I didn’t like one bit. There’s nothing like seeing blood running down your leg to make you feel like a real birder. I hate to say it, but I kind of dug it, because it made me feel tough…like I was out in the wilds on my own surviving with just a compass and a camera. I had lens tissues in my little pack and after pulling out the thorns, used them with a little water to clean up the scratches. It seeped for a while, and I vaguely had thoughts of the possibility of poisonous thorns, but I soon forgot it as I noticed an Anhinga sitting on top of a tree. He was pretty far away (and the photos are poor), but I could still see the bare blue-green skin around his eye indicating he was in breeding season.

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