Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea

The first record for Europe (not including the Azores) was an immature bird that arrived in Ireland in October 2008. Later the same autumn another bird was reported in south Wales but despite many hundreds of hopeful birders scouring the estuary the following day it could not be re-found - unless, as I suspect, it was a misidentified Little Egret. Young birds are white like Little Egrets and there was one Little Egret present the next day which had green legs rather like those of immature Little Blue Heron.

In North America it is mainly confined to coastal states in the south and east - relatively few are in California, mainly in the San Diego area where the following bird(s) were photographed.

Little Blue Heron, Mission Bay, 19-Apr-05 Little Blue Heron, Mission Bay, 19-Apr-05

Little Blue Heron, Mission Bay (California, USA), 19th April 2005

 

Little Blue Heron, Bacon Street, 19-Apr-05 Little Blue Heron, Bacon Street, 19-Apr-05

Little Blue Heron, Bacon Street, San Diego (California, USA), 19th April 2005 - given the proximity to Mission Bay and the similar appendage to the previous bird, this was perhaps the same bird - or are several birds in the area carrying radio/satellite transmitters?

 

Little Blue Heron, De Anza Cove, 19-Apr-05  

Little Blue Heron, De Anza Cove (California, USA), 19th April 2005