A Variety of Herons are Spotted in Provincetown's Wetlands and Ponds

This Yellow-crowned Night Heron made a daylight appearance
in the pond along Provincelands Road.

This year there seem to be several types of herons in the marshes, ponds and wetlands surrounding Provincetown. Although his hairdo seems to fall a bit flat, this fellow appears to be a Yellow-crowned Night Heron, found fishing for his lunch in the salt pond along Provincelands Road. Like the Great Blue Heron, which seems to be the one most often spotted in the Provincelands, this stocky bird stands motionless, waiting for a little fish or a frog to swim by, then pounces on his prey, making it part of his lunch.
This particular bird generally does most of its hunting after dark, but around these parts, feeding time seems to have more to do with the timing of the tides rather than the hour or the daylight. Look for these birds and other herons at about half-tide, as the water in this pond and in the wetlands around it is rising with the tide.