Tricolored Heron in Flight - Lake Elkhorn

Juvenile tricolored heron about to land from a short flight across the forebay pond at Lake Elkhorn. This particular heron is a very rare heron for this area. They are primarily found along the east coast shoreline, mostly Ocean City and Assateague for Maryland. They are also found on the Chesapeake's eastern shore by Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge downward. This is only the fifth recorded time one has been found in the county and only the second sighting since 1994. It was only sighted for 2 days (July 27 and 28). Many people, including myself, searched the morning of July 29 for several hours with no sign of it.

As Elkhorn is not far away, I spent several hours between Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon photographing this juvenile as it is one of my favorite herons. I took about 1000 photos and, while I am still sorting through them, intend to post several more flight shots. While quite a bit of my flight shots were blurry and misfocused, I am excited that the shot of it turning in flight came out great.

Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 290mm on Nikon D5500