Tricolored Heron Visits West Virginia

Yesterday afternoon, I took a trip to the Shenandoah River in Jefferson County (the easternmost county in West Virginia) to see the Tricolored Heron that had been reported there, this being the first record of the species for the State. The bird was first spotted by Matt Orsie, a local birder, on July 31 and has been seen daily since then. I had no trouble locating the bird and had leisurely and unobstructed views of the bird fishing in the river for about 10 minutes. Only when a pair of bikers approached the spot where I was standing did the bird flush and fly to the far shore of the river. Quite thrilling! The Tricolored is perhaps the most slender of the North American herons; it reminds me of an under-sized Great Blue Heron with anorexia.