Not sure what was going on this particular Little Blue Heron, but he was having a difficult time when I encountered him, and I know that something was amiss with his tongue and he kept shaking his head violently in order to correct the problem but could never get things straightened out. This went on all the time I was observing him, but he did manage to snag a few spiders during that time period. He never quit shaking his head and trying to correct the problem with his tongue. The previous capture of the Greenie was made here as well, and he was off to my right. This photo was taken on Horsepen Bayou in Alligator Alley.
Decided to do a search of my first encounter with this type of problem and was able to locate a shot of a GBH that was having the same sort of problem. It looks as if the tongue has been dislocated and will not go back into place. I’ve included a photo in one of the comment boxes below if anyone wants to view the other photo. No need to comment as I’ve included it for reference purposes only.
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Tags: WanaM3 Texas Pasadena Clear Lake City Horsepen Bayou bayou outdoors nature wildlife nature photography canoeing paddling bird animal heron Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea distress
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My spider guess was a bit off and after closer examination, I am going to take a stab at the tasty tidbit that this Little Blue Heron was feeding on. I think it’s actually a water strider, but this is beyond my level of expertise and we’ll just call it an insect. Even though he went about his business of foraging on this mass of floating muck, he continued to shake his head violently from time to time with the tongue being the cause of his discomfort. He was most accommodating and was never bothered by my presence. Little Blue Heron feeding on Horsepen Bayou.
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Tags: WanaM3 Texas Pasadena Clear Lake City Horsepen Bayou bayou outdoors nature wildlife nature photography canoeing paddling animal bird heron Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea
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I don’t think that there was anything flying around nearby, but this Little Blue Heron decided to close the nictitating membrane on the eye and so that is the way it appears in this scene. Photo taken on Horsepen Bayou.
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Tags: WanaM3 Texas Pasadena Clear Lake City Horsepen Bayou bayou outdoors nature wildlife nature photography canoeing paddling animal bird heron Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea
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It’s really sad to see all of the birds that normally forage on the bayou sitting in trees and waiting for an opportunity to do a bit of feeding. This is a young Little Blue Heron in the process of changing into an adult. Not sure how old they are when they transition from the pure white stage to the dark blue/gray colors of the adults, but All About Birds states that it’s at about he one year mark. I call then tweeners, but the page says that they are referred to as “Calico, Pied or Piebald”. This particular youngster was perched high in the trees along Horsepen Bayou with a couple of adults.
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Tags: Wanam3 Texas Pasadena Clear Lake City Horsepen Bayou bayou outdoors nature widlife nature photography canoeing paddling animal bird heron calico juveniel Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea tweener
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But you’ll need to find your own food ‘cause there’ll be NO handouts canoe boy. Just looking over the shoulder of a Little Blue Heron foraging on Horsepen Bayou.
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Tags: WanaM3 Sony a6600 Sony a6600 Texas Pasadena Clear Lake City Horsepen Bayou bayou outdoors nature wildlife nature photography canoeing paddling animal bird heron Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea
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