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Black-crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax
Ardeidae

The chunkiest heron
Ready to fish
Red eye may be advantageous for foraging at night
Neck retracted and legs trailing in flight
Nest built by male and female
Nesting high on a cliff
Nesting on tree tops of island
Clutch has 3 to 5 eggs
Adult stretches on nest with camouflaged young
Unlike parents, chick has yellow eyes
Nestlings look nothing like parents
In-fighting may lead to brood reduction
Juvenile harassing a Common Coot
Juvenile takes on adult red eye color
Juvenile fishing at dusk

A Black-crowned Night Heron was observed only once at Salter Grove in August 2018.  It was probably a migrating bird from the north, making a rest stop before heading to its wintering grounds in Mexico or Central America.  

It is slightly larger than a Herring Gull and has a stout bill.  It is a rather chunky heron compared to the diurnal herons seen at Salter Grove such as the Great Blue Heron, Great Egret or Snowy Egret.  It certainly is also less conspicuous since it remains inactive during the day hidden in marsh vegetation and only forages actively for small fish and aquatic invertebrates at night.

It breeds in fresh and salt-water wetlands throughout much of the world including Asia, Africa, Europe, North, and South America.  Although birds breeding in the northern part of its range are migratory, some populations are year-round residents in regions with a moderate climate.  

Black-crowned Night Herons have adapted so well to the urban environment in the San Francisco Bay area that they have been named Oakland's official city bird!