ID please

I'm new to the list and have very impressed by the photography and knowledge of the list members here. Keep up the great work..

I shot this photo last year in the marsh at Huntington State Park in SC. I've had several people offer there thoughts, but I'm not certain any of them are totally sure. I've heard baby blue heron, juvenile tri-colored heron and the list goes on.

I only had a few seconds to grab this at 500mm before it flew away, so not the best composition. The color was not like any heron I've seen before, so it has me stumped.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Don

You found a nice little adult tri-color heron here - white, blue, and yellow.
Pretty common in the south.
They're little guys - about 20 inches, and , in breeding colors, have beautiful long blue plumes on the head and neck, and tan-ish ones on the back.
Sandy


Edit for typo

Thanks Sandy. Love your website!

Don

It's an adult tri-color heron. A juvenile has a lot of russet brown. A 'baby' little blue heron is all white, gradually gaining its slate blue feathers as it matures. An adult little blue heron is all blue - no white belly.