Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Juvenile)

(Latin)

Where: Cape Charles, VA • Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) • Ramp Lane

Notes: With a long weekend at the coast and perfect weather; we decided to take a more casual approach to birding. So we parked and set up our folding chairs at the edge of a roadside pond at the Eastern Shore NWR. We had not been there long when someone noticed this youngster as it crept out from behind a shubbery. It must have ducked into the bushes when we first arrived. But, because we were sitting still and being quiet, it soon crept out from behind its water-side hideaway. It was only about ten feet away. It moved slowly, each step taking a few minutes. We watched it at this close range for quite a while, as it explored its environment. Eventually it became focused on something on the ground, near its feet. Then it began to slowly sway its head a little from left to right. I have seen this behavior in Little Blue Herons before, but this bird's movement was slower and shorter. Soon it struck at something on the ground and came up with a small Fiddler Crab. A flip of the head, and the crab was gone in one gulp. I have always underestimated the possibilities of encounters while sitting still. But the more I sit and witness events like this, the quicker I am to try it more often.