Yesterday, walking at the north western end of Manly Dam, I saw four large water birds flying high above the trees. Here are two of them:

Intrigued, I followed them around the corner where, luckily, they landed high in a tree. I managed to photograph two of them, before they took off again:

They’re White-necked Herons! This is my first sighting of these birds. They’re large and impressive, with those long legs and undertaker stance. The bird on the left has a misplaced feather that, combined with the reddish colouring on its wing tips, looks a little painful.

The birds were very high up, in the furthermost tree in this picture (though they had gone by the time I took the photo):

The left-most bird turned around at one stage, giving us a nice view of the spots running down its chest and the reddish marking at the top of its wings:

Another pose of the same bird:

This is the right-hand bird, looking altogether sleeker and fiercer:

It’s exciting to see such large, impressive visitors at Manly Dam!

Common name: White-necked Heron
Scientific name: Ardea pacifica
Approximate length: 75-105 cm
Date spotted: 2 September 2024 (spring)
Location: Manly Creek in Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’20.0″S 151°14’30.6″E