Great Blue Heron -- Juvie or female?

[Diane Miller]

This isn't an artistic effort, just curious about ID. This heron landed about 25 ft from me and walked around calmly for maybe 15 minutes. I'm curious about the plumage -- a juvenile, or maybe a female? (I'm really new to birds.) A week or so later I saw another with similar color but more uniformly brown. Shot about 3 weeks ago near Petaluma, CA (50 mi up the coast from San Francisco).

Canon 5D3, 300mm f/2.8 + 2X (the I-series IS lens and the II-series TC). ISO 400, f/13, 1/800 sec. Wimberley head on the big Gitzo. No sharpening (it's a bit soft at 100%) or adjustments other than basic Lightroom adjustments.

http://www.dianedmiller.com/z-bpn-ddm-02.jpg

[Randy Stout]

Diane:

A big welcome to BPN. Your bird is a juvi. There is no difference in the coloration of the adults (no sexual dimorphism) although the males are a bit bigger.

Look forward to more "artistic" posts:S3:

Cheers

Randy

[Satish Ranadive]

Diane,
Welcome to BPN. Excellent portrait.I like the square composition.Love the colors,details and lights.

Regards,
Satish.