What's this bird?

[Stephen T.]

I was up at the Wood River Wetlands, near Chiloquin, OR, this morning. There's thousands of ducks on the water, a couple hundred great egrets along the western shore of Agency Lake, lots of white pelicans and a variety of others. I caught this one flying over. It was a bit too far for my telephoto to get a great shot, but for ID purposes it should do. However, I'm not sure what it is! It looks somewhat like a heron, but...

 

[addy1]

Neat looking..............no idea though

 

[IPA]

Black-crowned Night-Heron me thinks.

 

[Stephen T.]

Black-crowned Night-Heron, that was my first thought, but my 2 books show the head to be black above the eye, with a white patch in front of the eye to the bill. This makes me wonder if that is correct.

 

[IPA]

Maybe American Bittern?

 

[IPA]

I am using Merlin Bird ID.
Here is a picture of the American Bittern


And of the juvenile Night-Heron

 

[brokensword]

To my eye, looks suspiciously like a blue heron...I have pics of both bittern and black-crowned night-night and this doesn't look like either. As evidenced by IPA above.

 

[j.w]

This is a Blue Heron. Think the beak is wrong and the neck tucked in is bulkier.

 

[j.w]

I think @IPA has it right as the Bittern.
Speaking of the heron, he was pacing all around my pond the other day trying to climb the net and was squawking away like mad trying to figure a way in there. Last evening he was back on the roof overlooking the pond till I came out the front door and he flew away. He is one determined sucker!

 

[IPA]

@j.w , it's a shame in a way, in the natural environment they are such amazing birds but also such a menace to pond owners.

 

[j.w]

Yep very cool birds and would never hurt one. I'll just make sure my net is good and solid so he/she can't get in there. Love watching them pace around my pond eyeballing all that sushi!

 

[saugeye tom]

I just run a single fishing line all the way around the pond

 

[addy1]

I just run a single fishing line all the way around the pond

I ran many fishing lines around the pond, it did not stop them. Lines over the pond, no good, the only thing that stopped them was the wide weave net I have hanging high over the pond.

 

[saugeye tom]

Huh...left me alone for years
...coons on the other hand...

 

[Stephen T.]

Another pond I had was found by kingfishers. I had about 150 feeder goldfish in a 30-150 natural pond to control mosquitoes. It took the several kingfishers about 10 days to empty it! I haven't had any problems here. We are about 1200' from Agency Lake and so far, they've done their fishing there.