The Story
This juvenile Boat-billed Heron (Cochlearius cochlearius) was at Hato Mata de Palma in Casanare, Colombia when I photographed it. The Boat-billed Heron’s native range reaches from Mexico to Peru, Brazil and northeastern Argentina. It forages in streams with vegetation, shallow water and lagoons, using low branches and mangrove roots to stand over the water. Hato Mata de Palma is one of three ranches, with Altamira and Montana, that make up El Encanto de Guanapalo, a reserve of almost 9,000 hectares of flooded savanna and gallery forest in San Luis de Palenque. IUCN lists the Boat-billed Heron as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 320. El Encanto de Guanapalo pays for its conservation through traditional cattle ranching, ecotourism and carbon credits, using the Cataruben Foundation’s Co2Bio model.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Boat-billed Heron (Cochlearius cochlearius) belongs to the family Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2018), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List