Black-crowned night heron

As the light fades over a marsh, the night heron wakes up. By day it sits hunched and stocky in the shade of a shoreline tree, easy to miss, and by dusk it is standing motionless at the water’s edge with a red eye fixed on the shallows. The black cap and back, grey wings, and white underparts make it a handsome bird, and its short thick neck gives it a distinctive shape.

Night herons nest in colonies, often in trees or dense marsh vegetation, and they eat fish, frogs, insects, and even the eggs and young of other birds. Young birds are brown and streaky, which often confuses people. In Manitoba they are a summer visitor of southern marshes, and they head south for the winter.

To learn more about the black-crowned night heron and its habitat, visit its species page at All About Birds.

Here are some of my favourite frames of this bird.

Field notes in photographs

Black-crowned night heron Manitoba sightings

Where and when you can find the black-crowned night heron in Manitoba depends on the season and the habitat. You can see more species in the Manitoba birds section.

Back to Manitoba bird photography, or see the portfolio.