Filming the Young Herons

I have had a chance to see several young night herons this year, some yellow-crowned night heron youngsters on Governor's Island, and some young black-crowned night herons in Central Park.

Young black-crowned night heron at Turtle Pond, Central Park, August 2, 2016

I will post the yellow-crowned youngsters soon, but I wanted to share some black-crowned babies I saw on July 29 and August 2. When I see the young herons, I am taken by how different their coloring is from the adults'. You can see in this selection a young fledgling, an older fledgling and the adult. The brown and white feathers turn blue and white, and the golden eyes turn red.

The Filming the Feathers video, Young Black-Crowned Night Herons in Central Park, features the two younger fledglings — the one at the 59th Street Pond on July 29 and August 2, and the one at Turtle Pond on August 2 — and one older heron on August 2 at Turtle Pond. The music is a wind octet by Beethoven, performed by Soni Ventorum Wind Quartet.

Another Silly Video by Susan Kirby. This video features three young black-crowned night herons, one brown-feathered youngster at the 59th Street Pond, and another about the same age at Turtle Pond, plus an older one getting his blue feathers at Turtle Pond. Part of the Filming the Feathers series.

The photos below feature an adult black-crowned night heron at 59th Street and the two youngest herons (photos 2 through 4 show the bird at the 59th Street Pond, who could be the offspring of the adult; the remaining photos are of the Turtle Pond youngster).