Green Heron

Green Heron on April 25, 2023. Green Herons have come back to Maryland the past few weeks and I have been anxiously awaiting them at Wilde Lake. The county had a large group of nearly 30 Anhingas, a rare visitor to not just Maryland but Howard County especially, on April 21. While there to get a few photographs of these birds, I kept my eyes open for Green Herons. A few were flying up and down the lake. None landed close and since the Anhingas weren't discovered until Friday evening, the sun had set low enough that the Wilde Lake Dam and the stream it flows into were already mostly covered in darkness. I get most of my Green Heron shots there below the dam.

I went back yesterday near midday not expecting to find much. I'm not a fan of midday shooting for birds as my shots can have harsh light so it's not something I do often. One of the Green Herons was at the bottom of the dam for an extended period. Someone decided to fish below the dam, making the Green Heron anxious and flighty. One never came back on the rest of my trip.

This particular Green Heron has a broken back "toe". I noted the upturned claw that seemed out of place. Green Herons have 3 toes going forward in the front and 1 toe facing the opposite direction in the back. In other photos, you can see the back toe seemed nonexistent because it was bent backwards and in front with the other toes.

Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500