Vermont Rare Bird Reports 2024

Clear, calm, dark, full moon but without snow.

My vortex 8X42's do quite well in low-light conditions.

Very familiar with the species, having extensive field experience. Also some field experience with Yellow-crowned Night Heron.

Trench/gully in the floodplain forests along the Winooski River. It almost seems like these used to be old oxbows that got isolated, but I'm not sure of their origin. The surrounding forest type is riparian floodplain with a prevalence of silver maple, etc. Beaver and muskrat frequent these isolated waterways and other herons have been seen here before.

The bird mostly stood still, hunched in a compact position. It only flushed as I approached, raveling long legs and wings.

The bird did not vocalize.

The noted bird was spotted along the edge of a waterway, seen by a head lamp. At first, I could see only the eye shine and silhouette, knowing I had a bird of some kind. I approached the bird very slowly, pausing frequently and refocusing my view. With each approach, illumination from my head lamp improved, revealing more visual details. The barring on the chest was evident early in my approach, having me initially suspect a Barred Owl. But as I got closer, I could see the long beak and body shape indicating a Heron. The stout neck and compact form immediately hinted towards a Night Heron. At my closest point to the bird, I was able to see the speckled wings and barred chest indicating a juvenile Night Heron over other small heron sp. such as Green Heron or American Bittern. Additionally, the extensive pale coloration of the beak was visible, even in low lighting conditions, distinguishing this bird as a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron rather than the less likely Yellow-crowned Night Heron. Eventually, before I was close enough to obtain a photograph, the bird flushed and resettled in an inaccessible area. I was unable to relocate the bird in the darkness, and it was not re-found during subsequent searches by others after dawn.

Appeared to be a small heron, and based on the compact body and stout neck, looked to be a Night Heron based on the initial giss.

Upon writing this report, no specific features of the head were noted in my initial observation. I was instead focused on other features.

Long bill with extensive pale coloration in the mandible visible even in the low lighting conditions.

not visible.

not visible

dark with light speckled pattern.

Dark breast with light streaks.

Not visible.

The compact shape and stout neck hinted towards a Night Heron, but the speckled wings and barred chest ruled out other small Heron sp. such as Green Heron or American Bittern, but rather a juvenile Night Heron. The extensive paleness visible in the bill ruled out a Yellow-crowned Night Heron.

The observed bird was a juvenile, and despite challenging viewing conditions, the bird was observed over several minutes and well enough to be confident in the identification.