Nycticorax nycticorax

There are 7 species of Night Heron across the world. This one, the Black-Crowned Night Heron, is found everywhere except Australasia and the polar regions. These stocky medium-sized herons are so named for their tendency to forage nocturnally, though they are readily seen during the day.

The Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge usually closes at 5 pm each night, but for the first Friday of each month this summer, it's open until 8. Jeremy and I took advantage of that rare privilege today, wandering around the refuge in the golden light of late afternoon. The weather here in northern California has been unseasonably warm and clear, even verging on tropical, which made for a tranquil walk around the wetlands.

Breaking through the quiet were upwards of 4 American Bitterns gah-woomfing from the cattails, a squawking Virginia Rail, and many insistent chittering Marsh Wrens. A number of Northern Pintail pairs were out on the water--a species I hadn't yet seen this year. And as we were leaving, we spied this Black-Crowned Night Heron, still as a mannequin, standing in the shallows. It didn't move a muscle for minutes...perhaps it was simply waiting for the night to come on.