ID confirm, please

[Beth Goffe]

This would be a young Little Blue Heron, correct? I hadn't seen one before but I think I placed it in Sibley's and just want to be sure. Thanks!

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Definitively this guy looks like a LBG. juvenile.

[John Chardine]

Sometimes you can age birds more precisely than just immature/adult. According to Sibley, Little Blue Herons are white from fledging through winter into the next spring. Then the bird moults to adult plumage, so this bird looks like it is in its second year and is a little less than one year old. All this underlines how important it is to post dates with photos. When was his one taken?

[Beth Goffe]

Thanks, Juan Carlos and John. This was taken about two weeks ago at the Oceanside Marine Nature Study Center in Long Island.

[John Chardine]

Thanks Beth. So this bird was a chick in summer of 2007 and is now about 1 year old.

[Beth Goffe]

Thanks, John, that agrees with my investigation as well. At first I thought this was a life bird but, now that I think of it, I think I saw an adult LBH in Ding Darling in March on Artie's IPT. It's still neat - I have not seen one of these up here in NYC until last month.