dendrologith's Identifications

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) Widespread in many habitats near water, it is the largest heron in North America. Juveniles have a dark cap and appear more blueish-brown. Adults have black shoulders. Breeding adults have rufous colored thighs. Habitat is marshes, swamps, shores, tidal flats. It forages in any kind of calm fresh waters, slow-moving rivers, and in shallow coastal bays. Roosts and nests in trees or shrubs near water. It is often seen standing silently along inland rivers or lakeshores, or flying high overhead with slow wingbeats, with head hunched back onto its shoulders. With a varied diet, it is able to spend the winter farther north than most herons, even in areas where most waters freeze.

E Bird https://ebird.org/explore and https://ebird.org/species/grbher3/

Audubon Guide to North American Birds https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/great-blue-heron

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, ed. Jon L. Dunn, 7th ed., 2017, pp. 258-259.

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America, ed. Jon L. Dunn, 2008, pp. 90-91.

Monterey Birds, Don Roberson, 2nd ed. 2002, sponsored by Monterey Peninsula Audubon Society, p. 112.

Sharing wildlife sounds from around the world https://xeno-canto.org/explore?query=Ardea%20herodias

The Cornell Lab https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/ and https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron

Merlin Bird ID (great app available for Iphones) by The Cornell Lab (Bird ID help for 8,500+ species)

Found Feathers: https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/idtool.php