Bird ID

I labeled this as a Heron but it doesn't look like some of the photos on the Net.

That is a great blue heron. See this link: Great Blue Heron

 

It is a GREAT BLUE HERON.

Some photos don't show that flaring back feather on the top of their head. Maybe it lays down flat when they are not flying. Where was that taken?

My photo is a GBH landing at White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas.

Some photos don't show that flaring back feather on the top of their head.

 

Those photos may show a juvenile bird. The plume off the back of the head is an adult feature.

In the original picture, it would be hard to age the bird although it seems to have some raggedy feathers on the upper chest, a feature of a more mature bird. The plume is usually not up when the bird is at rest. You can see from Shun's obviously mature GBH that it has a plume as there appears to be a very slight gap of the black "cap" at the bottom of the neck.

I very much admire good pictures of this bird like Bill's, probably because of the below.

I see these birds all the time in WI, but in the wild where they have very limited human exposure. In that setting they are very timid and almost impossible to stalk and get a closer picture or a good flight picture. I have tried to do this scores of times over many years. They fly off long before I am in optimal photography range. I suspect there are more populated areas where they frequent and become much more tolerant of human presence. Those just don't happen to be close to where I live. :-)