Betty Salter Art
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Betty Salter Art » Birds » Hamish: Ready For Okarito
Detail: Hamish: Ready For Okarito
Hamish: Ready For Okarito
White Heron - Egretta alba - (Kotuku)
This particular heron has been named Hamish by some of the older residents of Mapua. He has been a regular visitor to our area for at least 14 Winters.
He arrives, usually early March, from the breeding grounds of Okarito down the West Coast of the South Island. His physical appearance on arrival is usually dishevelled, to say the least, but after several months of good living at Mapua - fish trimmings from the restaurant at the wharf and foraging in the estuary - he is ready to leave again, looking resplendent with new breeding plumage.
This painting is from a photo I took just two days before he departed on 23 Sept to fly back to Okarito for the Summer Breeding season.
The long trailing feathers are full breeding plumage which is shed at the end of the season.
