You may remember back on May 23, I posted about the nesting of Yellow-Crowned Night Herons. Click here to see that post. Here is what the chicks look like today. How soon they grow up. 🙂
Yellow-crowned Night Heron with chicks. I believe that they are about to fledge.
I shot this with my Canon EOS 7D and Canon 100-400mm lens. Exposure was 1/250 @ f9 at ISO 400. Fill flash was used because of the dense shade in the tree. There were actually four chicks. The one on the right has his beak in his feathers as if he is preening. A fourth, is out of the picture, standing on a twig to the left. Click on the image to see an enlargement.
Texas Tweeties by Bob Zeller 
Interesting and great photo as always. You might be interested in this article from The Washington Post about the night herons who show up at the National Zoo for free meals. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/metro/urban-jungle/spring-2012/index.html?media=12
Thanks for the comment, and I appreciate the link. That is a very interesting and entertaining article. 🙂
They sure grow fast. Really like photos like this that educate me on the life and habits of birds.
Thank you very much for the kind words and comment, Jane.
My goodness, they have REALLY grown! Great capture, Bob, thanks for following up with them! 🙂
Hey, thanks, Donna. I appreciate your kind compliment. 🙂
Neat look at the chicks Bob and I like seeing the contrast between the youngsters and the adult. That’s what I call a growth spurt!
The kids look larger than the adult in the photo, but I think it is because of the telephoto lens, and that the adult is sitting slightly lower. Thanks for the comment, Ron.
I certainly understand how fast baby birds can grow! I have three baby geese that went from about 5 inches to two feet high in about 30 days time! I guess if you live in the wild you need to get growing so you can fend for and protect yourself. (Though I must say the goslings are totally immature in spite of their growth.)
These babies are beautiful, Bob!
~ Lynda
This is the first time I ever witnessed this. They really shot up in growth. I couldn’t believe how fast. Thanks for commenting, Lynda.
Jeez they did grow quickly!! Excellent photo Bob!
Thanks, David. I appreciate it. 🙂
It is so interesting to see the growth in the babies..great photo..
They sure grew fast. Thanks, Syl. 🙂
Wow! Those lil guys are beautiful! I love hearing about their progress. I snapped a photo of a blue heron (pic on Facebook) while at the lake the other day. Herons are new sightings to me and I love how different the species are (in terms of looks). Thank you for sharing Bob! 🙂
Thanks for your interesting comment, Polly. You might like to know that these Yellow-crowns are really quite small, only about 24 inches tall, whereas the Great Blues are nearly 4 feet tall. As you say, they are all quite amazing.
Nice shot Bob! 🙂
Thanks, H.J.