G2 Wild Images
Yellow-crowned Night-heron
The Creature of the Black Lagoon
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Growing up as kid, my favorite monster of all time was not the werewolf, or Dracula, but The Creature. By today’s standards, the special effects for that 1954 movie or its sequels were quite unimpressive. But what always stood out to me was the eerie feeling that the Creature embodied. Fast forward to yesterday, while exploring the vast marshland of South Jersey, I was reminded of my childhood monster. Fog had blanketed the area, which limited visibility in all directions. For some reason, I had this eerie feeling as if something was watching me. My suspicions were correct when I was able to make out this lone Yellow-crowned Night-Heron eyeing me from about 40 yards away. The bird had been there the whole time looking to do some crabbing, but my presence had surely created confusion as to where it should focus its attention. I dropped to my belly, which worked for the Night-heron to go back to his morning ritual. It also allowed me to belly crawl unnoticed till I got much closer to capture this shot. The foggy mist provides drama to the creature I found, or that found me, in this lagoon…
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Did you know that Yellow-crowned Night-Herons slowly stalk prey in or near shallow water, usually alone, with a hunched, forward-leaning posture. They perch quietly on stumps and tree branches, often over water. The majority of their prey is crustaceans, especially crabs and crayfish.
Yellow-crowned Night-heron
The Creature of the Black Lagoon
.
Growing up as kid, my favorite monster of all time was not the werewolf, or Dracula, but The Creature. By today’s standards, the special effects for that 1954 movie or its sequels were quite unimpressive. But what always stood out to me was the eerie feeling that the Creature embodied. Fast forward to yesterday, while exploring the vast marshland of South Jersey, I was reminded of my childhood monster. Fog had blanketed the area, which limited visibility in all directions. For some reason, I had this eerie feeling as if something was watching me. My suspicions were correct when I was able to make out this lone Yellow-crowned Night-Heron eyeing me from about 40 yards away. The bird had been there the whole time looking to do some crabbing, but my presence had surely created confusion as to where it should focus its attention. I dropped to my belly, which worked for the Night-heron to go back to his morning ritual. It also allowed me to belly crawl unnoticed till I got much closer to capture this shot. The foggy mist provides drama to the creature I found, or that found me, in this lagoon…
.
Did you know that Yellow-crowned Night-Herons slowly stalk prey in or near shallow water, usually alone, with a hunched, forward-leaning posture. They perch quietly on stumps and tree branches, often over water. The majority of their prey is crustaceans, especially crabs and crayfish.