Little Blue Heron

I went kayaking this morning and launched on the Guana River 1/2 hour before sunrise. This is the first time I launched in the dark. It was amazing. The birds were vocalizing, the water was calm, and the colors of the sunrise reflected beautifully in the water. I am already planning to do a before sunrise launch in a different location tomorrow. It is a great time of day to be out there.

I never know what I am going to see when I kayak. I expect one thing and something else shows up. Today was a little blue heron day. I saw several of them and parked myself in the marsh grass to watch and take pictures. Sitting still gives me a great opportunity to watch their behavior. I was too far away to see what they were catching in the water to eat. Following are a couple favorite images.

On the way back to the boat ramp, I found this juvenile tern sitting on a float. I think it is a juvenile royal tern since that is the tern most often seen in this location, but I am unsure. I tried the Merlin app and it thinks it is a common tern which I think is unlikely for this location. I posted it in iNaturalist and will see whether experts can identify it.