Nyctanassa violacea | Kim Smith Films

\What exquisite breeding plumage – don’t you love the blue-gray feathers edged in white? We’re more likely to see Black-crowned Night Herons in Gloucester Harbor so when a friend texted with a photo of a Yellow-crowned Night Heron I set out the following morning at dawn to see if it was still here. I was on my way to film a segment of the series on “pond babies” that I have been working on and wasn’t expecting the YCNH would still be there. Imagine my delight when finding three all lined up in a row in the beautiful pre-dawn light.

Listen for their exceptionally loud quarking call as the three head out for the morning.

Yellow-crowned Night Herons eat mostly crustaceans (crayfish and crabs) including Fiddler, Marsh, Blue, and Green Crabs. They also feed on mussels, snails, insects, worms, lizzards, snakes, small rodents, eels, pipefish, worms, and even small birds.

According to the survey taken during Mass Audubon’s Breeding Bird Atlas II, the only confirmed record of Yellow-crowned Night Herons breeding in Massachusetts were in Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard so we are probably looking at a trio of migratory birds. There is also an adult at one of my pond locations and a number of recent sightings on Cape Cod.

So many thanks to my friend John S. for letting me know the YCNH were at the Harbor!

Compare and contrast –

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Yellow-crowned Night Heron Juvenile Gloucester MAssachusetts -2 copyright Kim Smith

Yellow-crowned Night Heron Juvenile on Cape Ann

Black-crowned Night Heron Gloucester

Several years ago, this Black-crowned Night Heron juvenile did not migrate and stayed on Cape Ann for an entire winter.

Yellow-crowned Night Herons (Nyctannassa violacea) and Black-crowned Night herons are the only two night herons in the genus Nyctannassa. BCNH are found around the world whereas YCNH are only found in the Americas.

Stopping on my way home from a job site in Boston late this afternoon, I met up with a beautiful immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron. While photographing and filming, out from the woods appeared a pack of coyotes, two youngsters and two adults, I think. Then the heron that I was filming flew low and toward the coyotes; please don’t do that I said to nobody but myself. Up he then flew into the trees above and you can see one of the adult coyotes looking up toward the heron.

The canids took a few sips of water from the pond’s edge before stealing back into the brush. A few seconds later there was a series of loud growling and yelping. I was tired and shaky from a long day with no lunch, a little spooked that the coyotes were so close and didn’t wait to see what would happen next. With both cameras in hand, I did manage to film the scene (and record audio of the ferocious growling!) and here are a few snapshots.