I was out on my boat near Nanaimo, BC, a few weeks ago when I spotted this heron in the trees above me.
Herons are a daily sight in this part of the world. You will often see a Great Blue Heron flying overhead, or standing in the water, motionless, until a fish comes near, and then *snap* … lunch.
But this one is different. I’ve seen a lot of herons but never one with the colouring of this one. It is the size of a Great Blue Heron but it was all speckled grey and white.
Please click the image to view a larger version.
I don’t think it’s a juvenile because it was huge and the juveniles I have seen have the same colouring as the adults, but with softer fluffier feathers.
This one intrigued me so much that I even let my sister drive the boat so I could get a better shot! (I think she’s only the second person I have ever allowed to drive.) So I have to thank Kathleen for helping me get this shot.
If you know what kind of heron this is, please let me know in the comments.
I wonder if it is just a colour morph of a GB Heron. I’ll try and look this up later but in some species you can get colour anomolies, though I’ve never seen one in a heron locally.
Thanks for the suggestion Michael. I have never seen one like it before!
I have no idea as I am not a bird person, but great shot.
Thank you very much Chris!
That is a stunning bird – that’s all I can help you with! haha
I appreciate it Matt!
It could be a vagrant from Asia, or perhaps more likely a GB heron with partial albinism.
Hmm.. yes … that’s it, it probably came over with some of that Tsunami junk that is washing up on the west coast! 😉 Someone else mentioned partial albinism too .. I’ll have to check that out. Thanks for your visit and comments Roger.
Abnormal colors would Leucistic, not Albino. It IS A GBH.
http://www.pbase.com/jpkln/image/47897400
Certainly not as lovely a photo as yours, but I see resemblances with the bird you photographed.
The description on the photo is:
Great Blue Heron, juvenile
Natural Bridges SP, Santa Cruz, CA
Glen
Hi Glen, yours is certainly a Great Blue Heron. We have tons of them around here and that is exactly what they look like. You can see why I don’t think mine is a juvenile because yours, a juvenile, already has all its colours. Thanks for the visit and comments Glen.
She’s stunning! I have never seen a Heron like this before and am in awe of her gorgeous pale blue feathers!
Thank you very much Mary, she is beautiful!
I’d go with the color morph of the GB, as well, seeing that white morphs have gray legs, like yours.
Hi Robert, ah, white morphs have grey legs, very interesting … thanks!
Hello Anne
My wife is registered with the California Fish and Game as a songbird rehabilitator and often is holding a bird and quite often cannot identify them. People that have done rehabbing for years are quite often stumped.
So here is her best guess, a Great Blue Heron color variant.
Hi Allan, thank you and your wife very much! I asked on Google+ as well and a few people mentioned the same thing and it’s the best answer so far.
Hi Anne, Your bird a lucistic color morph of a Great Blue Heron. John
Thank you very much John, that has been suggested before, but it’s good to know for sure.
I photographed this Leucistic Great Blue Heron on June 12, 2014 at the ferry in Vancouver BC.
Oh, look at that! Thanks for sharing your image Deb. It’s such a beautiful bird!