Tricolored Herons are, possibly, even more abundant at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge than Great Blues. Along Black Point Wildlife Drive they are everywhere, in every pond, and in all the water channels. In the brilliant Florida winter light, they are a truly colorful bird. Even, as here, in more subdued light, they certainly fill the frame with color and interesting detail.

This bird was sitting up, as they sometimes do, in a small mangrove bush, about 4 feet above the water, and well isolated against the background of the mangroves on the other side of the pond. Ideal portrait placement with a long lens, or, as in this case, a digiscoping rig.

In second two shots you can see the subtle purple/red tinge to the back and lower neck feathers.

And I have to say, the Tricolored Heron is really considerably more than tri-colored. 🙂

Taken with the Canon SD100HS behind the 30x eyepiece on the ZEISS DiaScope 65FL spotting scope. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation. 1) 3420mm equivalent field of view, 1/100th @ ISO 400. f9 effective. 2) 1881mm equivalent, 1/50th @ ISO 100, f5 effective. 3) 1368mm equivalent, 1/125th @ ISO 100, f3.7 effective.

Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness. 3) cropped for composition.