The “Tweener”
The little blue heron is one of my favorite birds, and this immature heron is in the most appealing phase of it’s development. Little blue herons start out as all white juveniles. But by the time they’re a year old, they slowly begin to change into the all blue adult they will eventually become. This in between, or “tweener” phase, when they are a patchwork of blue and white, is when the little blue looks the best in my opinion.
Phil Lanoue Photography 
I had no idea! So sweet!
They really are a fun and interesting bird!
Feel free to check out the LBH gallery for more examples of tweeners as well as adults and all white juveniles. 🙂
https://phillanoue.com/little-blue-heron-photos/
Cool, thanks!
🙂
Awesome shot Phil!!!
Hey thanks so much Jan, glad you liked seeing the tweener!
E’ veramente bello Phil e tu gli hai fatto una foto eccezionale!!
Ciao, Pat
Lui è un bel ragazzo! 🙂
I love that they’re called tweeners! My new favorite word. Fabulous photo, my friend!
Isn’t that a great word?! That’s almost the best part of seeing one of these guys, getting to say “tweener”!
Wonderful, Phil!
Oh thanks a bunch! Glad you enjoyed this pic!
Wow, that’s so cool! I agree, that’s my favorite look. Great image!
They are cool birds and I really like this look of the juvies!
I think this tweener has some pretty interesting markings. But we know that youth tends to be more into appearances before they get to the staid adult stage.
This guy has a little time left where he can look a bit outrageous before having to settle in for a more reserved adulthood.
I never knew what they looked like young. I would have been looking for days to try to identify this bird if I saw one.
When they are all white juveniles they look almost identical to regular adult snowy egrets. I have seen groups of snowys and only through careful observation did I realize a young LBH was among the group.
Once they start getting some blue they are easier to spot.
Learned something else today from you! This little guy really is cute!
Yeah I really like them in this in between phase. 🙂
I’ve seen the mature adults, and I’ve seen the all-white juveniles, with their greenish-blue legs. I’ve never seen the ‘tweener’ stage. Thanks for sharing!!
I glad I got an opportunity to show you this interesting bird!
wonderful pic…beautiful, everything about it!
Thanks a bunch for the kind words!
I love the blue herons, as you know, Phil! This little “tweener” (lovely word) is gorgeous, like a lot of juvenile creatures.
They are one of my all time favorite birds when in the tweener phase. Glad you like them too Maggie!
Thanks. I learn something new everyday.
I’m happy you enjoyed seeing this cool little guy!
Superb shot… Perfectly focused.
Hey thanks very much for checking this out and I appreciate your very kind words!
I’ve seen them with the mixed spots but this is the first time I’ve seen one flying with the mix of feathers. Beautiful catch!
Glad you enjoyed this shot of the tweener!
More flight shots of similar LBHs can be seen here: 🙂
https://phillanoue.com/little-blue-heron-photos/
Fascinating. I’ve never seen that before.
I really love seeing these guys and they are funny because they are the opposite of the white ibis who start out dark then turn into all white adults.
This adolescent is so super cute. I love this photo. And look how focused and, to me, happy, he is! 🙂 He looks so fresh, with such pretty colors.
He does look happy and looks like he is in a hurry too. Maybe he has a girlfriend on the other side of the marsh. 🙂
Beautiful shot! Again, love the wing position here, just wonderful.
I appreciate that very much, thanks!
Perfect shot of that slow and majestic flying bird.
He was actually flying along at a pretty good clip. The LBHs are often high flyers too, I don’t get a lot of photos of them flying at low water level.
Thanks a bunch for checking out this photo! 🙂
First time I’ve ever seen or heared of that before , I bet his parents are really chuffed to have such a gorgeous tweener 🙂
He was a cute little all white fluff ball when he was a baby and now on his way to being a regular big boy. I’m sure his parents are proud. 🙂
What a wonderful shot!! I just love this stage….