The Story
I photographed this juvenile Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) at Reserva Natural Hato Berlín in Trinidad, Casanare, Colombia. The Little Blue Heron lives in both saltwater and freshwater habitats. Adults build their nests in trees, in colonies with other species. The young grow quickly and need little attention from the adults after about nineteen days. Hato Berlín is a civil-society nature reserve on the Casanare savanna, about 10 km from Trinidad, where capybaras, caimans, turtles, monkeys and savanna and marsh birds can be seen. IUCN lists the Little Blue 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 200. The Safari Llanero at Hato Berlín lets visitors watch and photograph wildlife in its habitat and share the culture and food of the people who live there.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) 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 2025), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List