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.
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).
