Mystery Solved

How about this beauty? Any idea what it is?? We beginner birders were stumped. Upon asking around, we heard people say it was a snowy egret, a little egret, maybe a young great egret…

It is amazing the small differences that separate two different species or subspecies. At the time of this photo, I could see the legs had a greenish hue which doesn’t convey well in the photos. What I didn’t notice at the time, but I can see in the photos, there are some blue-gray tail feathers. Have you figured it out yet? Keep reading…

Does size matter? Of course it matters in the bird world! Size helps narrow down what you’re looking at as much as color can. We estimated this bird was about 2-3 feet long. After going back to my Audubon app dozens of times, I was happy enough with this creature being a juvenile snowy egret. Look it up! It matched to me!!

We have a friend who is a very experienced birder. We very much wanted to verify our hypothesis & so glad she was prepared to help. Are you ready to solve this mystery? Were we right or wrong?

WRONG!!! This lovely creature turned out to be a juvenile little blue heron! Who would’ve thought?!? I have a long way to go in learning the vast variety of birds in my region, let alone anywhere else. But that’s okay because birding has helped me refocus on the positive, on the beauty of God’s creation, and on what’s most important in life.

I hope that as you spend time in nature, you FEEL how truly loved by God you are. Thank you for joining me on my journey.