Little Blue Heron and Turtle

August 7, 2015 by Mike Powell

As I watched through my telephoto lens last Friday, one of the juvenile Little Blue Herons (Egretta caerulea) at Huntley Meadows Park became increasingly curious about the turtle with whom it was sharing a log. The heron moved closer and closer and finally jumped on top of the turtle. I was shocked to see the heron then put its face mere inches from that of the turtle.

This past month, a group of four or more juvenile Little Blue Herons has taken up residence at my local marshland park. When I first saw them, I assumed they were Great Egrets, because of the bright white coloration. However, the bills are a different color than those of the egrets. I am hoping that the Little Blue Herons hang around long enough for us to see them change into the blue color for which they are named.

I managed to take a series of shots of the encounter between the heron and the turtle. I initially thought it was a snapping turtle, but one of the folks who saw a photo I posted on Facebook thinks it might be a slider of some sort, a Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), I would guess after taking a closer look at the second image.

Initially the heron eyed the turtle from a distance.

Then he decided to get a closer look.

Feeling bold, he placed one foot on the turtle…

…and jumped on top of the turtle.

His curiosity still not yet satisfied, the heron leaned in for a face-to-face encounter. (Note that the turtle has retracted one of its front legs.)

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Reptiles, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Egretta caerulea, Huntley Meadows Park, Little Blue Heron, red-eared slider, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, Trachemys scripta elegans), turtle | 25 Comments

25 Responses

on August 7, 2015 at 8:17 am | Reply Dirck Harris

Definitely a Red-eared Slider. I’m marking your blog as a favorite, by the way.
- on August 7, 2015 at 9:03 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. I appreciate your jumping in on Facebook to correct my initial misidentification. From one angle, I thought it looked like a snapping turtle.
on August 7, 2015 at 8:28 am | Reply Laura (PA Pict)

Oh my goodness! What a spectacular sight. I wonder if the heron thought it was going to get away with such an affront.
- on August 7, 2015 at 9:04 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  I think the heron was like a curious little kid and may have never before encountered a turtle like that.
on August 7, 2015 at 9:02 am | Reply Victor Rakmil

This like crow on the eagle’s back. Viral images. Great shots.
- on August 7, 2015 at 9:05 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Victor. It was an unusual encounter and I wasn’t sure that I had captured it very well, given that I was shooting from a pretty good distance away.
on August 7, 2015 at 9:15 am | Reply joeschelling

Fascinating! Interesting the two of them interacted that way, since both egrets and turtles are so quick to take off as soon as a human presence is detected.
- on August 8, 2015 at 5:01 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  I was a pretty good ways from the two of them and had to crop the images to get the ones I posted. In my experience, both of the species are awfully skittish when I try to get close to them.
on August 7, 2015 at 9:37 am | Reply Lyle Krahn

What a neat encounter to capture. The curiosity is priceless.
- on August 8, 2015 at 4:58 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Lyle. I love it when I manage to capture the interaction of different species.
on August 7, 2015 at 10:04 am | Reply mvschulze

This is precious, Mike. One of your many “Pay Off” sequences. M 🙂
on August 7, 2015 at 12:06 pm | Reply Sarah Longes - Mirador Design

What a fantastic capture!!
- on August 8, 2015 at 4:57 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Sarah.
on August 7, 2015 at 1:10 pm | Reply naturesnippets

You were definitely in the right place at the right time! Amazing
on August 7, 2015 at 2:36 pm | Reply enmanscamera

Hey great photos MIke. You always seem to be in the right place for the right moment.
- on August 8, 2015 at 4:57 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. I seem to have an unusual amount of good luck in capturing some interesting moments (and enjoy spending a lot of time walking and watching).
on August 7, 2015 at 5:29 pm | Reply svtakeiteasy

What a great capture, Mike! It is a very inquisitive little heron! Amazing two about the juvenile being white… Often the colours are brownish and muddled when birds are youngsters.
- on August 8, 2015 at 4:55 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Chris. The color is definitely deceptive, because there are a couple of species of egrets that are white and look a bit like the immature Little Blue Heron.
on August 7, 2015 at 5:46 pm | Reply selah

talk about being in the right place at the right time! great shots.
- on August 8, 2015 at 4:54 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. I am often amazed at what I manage to see and try to be really alert when I am walking around with my camera.
on August 7, 2015 at 9:55 pm | Reply Lee

Super sequence!
- on August 8, 2015 at 4:53 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. It’s always a thrill when I manage to capture a series of shots that tell a story.
on August 8, 2015 at 5:38 am | Reply Johanna Åkesson

What a wonderful and unusual thing to capture! The turtle seems to be somewhat unhappy with the attention. How did this encounter end?
- on August 8, 2015 at 7:52 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  When I left them, the heron was still perched on the turtle’s back and was grooming himself. I suspect that like most human children, the juvenile heron’s attention span is relatively short and eventually he soon switched his attention to something else.
on August 8, 2015 at 9:55 am | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

That’s a great view of heron behavior! I wonder if he thought he could get the turtle out of its shell.
I didn’t know juveniles were white either.