While on Cayo Santa Maria in Cuba I photographed a small species of Heron that frequented the small man-made ponds around the hotel. There were two birds at these ponds of identical coloration. I thought nothing of it, just a cool looking heron that I would easily identify in my field guides upon my arrival home. No such luck. I cannot find this species in any of my field guides and after posting the image in bird forums still have no real answers.
This bird is same size as a Green-backed heron and has a small crest on its head that it will raise if alarmed similar to the Green-backed Herons. I have wondered if this is actually a Green-backed Heron that has developed a strange coloration due to a constant diet of the same species of fish that have been stocked in the ponds around the hotel. The fishes are a cichlid-type fish, probably Tilapia? Another thought I have is also that the ponds that were plagued with an algae problem have also affected the birds coloration. Some folks in the forums have suggested a melanistic form of Green-backed Heron, or staining of the birds feathers from an unknown source. Either way I am still completely baffled by this bird. Below are some alternate images of this heron species. In some of the images there are hints of normal Green-backed heron colors revealed among the greens.
If any folks have suggestions or possible answers to this heron species please drop me a note. It will be greatly appreciated.
Just for fun I have included a Fractalius of this cool looking bird as the last image. Aside from this Fractalius image, the other photographs have had minimal processing – they are true representations of how the birds look.
Andrew, I can’t help with the ID but I really like your images. Beautiful fract work too!!
Much thanks for the comments Denise. This heron is becoming quite the puzzle!
Hello Andrew. I want to start off by saying i really enjoy your stuff! I live north of the Newmarket area, and my family cottage is located north of Loring Ontario. This is where i enjoy my camera outings the most.
However the winter months seem to be the most challenging for me when doing landscapes. With the overcast skies i find it hard to get any vibrance from my shots. My question to you is mostly regarding some of your recent river scenes from the Muskoka region. I was wondering what filters you use (if any) or do you prefer to use HDR when shooting the rivers. I cant seem to figure out how the greens in the trees are so vibrant along with the cooling blue tones. I imagine you are using some ND filters to get the rivers to blur?
Your advice would be much appreciated!
What a fortunate soul you are to capture our beautiful province as a professional photographer. Without sounding cliche, i hope one day i have the skills to do the same!
Thanks for stopping by Andrew and for your kind words, I appreciate them very much. You are correct, winter is a challenging season to photograph. Most of the images you are inquiring about were shot with ND filters, polarizers or ND Grad filters and often in combination with each other. The ND Grads are great for holding back overcast skies. I do not shoot HDR images very often. I also find various photoshop plugins, especially those form Nik Software and Topaz Labs to be very useful when processing image files. Hope this helps. I will be starting private one-on-one workshops in the coming months, drop me a line if you’re interested. Cheers!
[…] like me, you like Green Herons and if, like me, you like birds with oddball plumages, then this post is for you. Â Photographed in Cuba, the bird appears to be a melanistic Green Heron though it might perhaps be […]
Thanks a ton for the link.
Found you through 10,000 Birds- that heron is an incredible find! Gorgeous…
Mike, thanks for stopping by. I appreciated your kind words.
what a great capture…I must keep my eyes peeled when we are there in April :).
Your blog is a great read; thanks for sharing your adventures and photos.
Thanks for the support Sherry. Much appreciated. Do let us know if you find the heron when you visit.