[Maine-birds] Tricolored Heron and hybrid heron in Scarborough Marsh

All,

I birded Scarborough Marsh on my way back from the Acadia Birding Festival (Caspian Tern at Seal Cove was yesterday's highlight, spotted by William Nichols: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14317477).

This morning at Scarborough:

An adult Tricolored Heron was behind the Pelreco building: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14325028

Pine Point had a pair of American Oystercatchers: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14323825. A flyover heron there (which I initially assumed was "just" a Tricolored) inspired me to run back through the marsh checking good heron areas, to see if there were two Tricoloreds around, and I was rewarded by refinding the bird and revising my tentative ID from  Tricolored Heron to a Tricolored Heron/hybrid.

From 9:30-9:50 there was an apparent SNOWY EGRET x TRICOLORED HERON in the Rte. 1 salt pans in Scarborough Marsh, which I was able to study, video, and photograph at length. I think it may be a one-year old bird, based on the covert pattern in the wings, but am not certain and it may be older. Comments on age welcome. 

Video of the bird feeding is available here: https://vimeo.com/67564325

Photos, some examples of similar birds, and some incompletely formed thoughts on the ID in my eBird checklist here: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14325011. Note that Derek Lovitch photographed a juvenile bird in Scarborough Marsh on 30 July 2012 that I believe may well be the same individual. Derek's was a fresh juvenile, with an extensively yellow bill, but young Snowies can have very pale bills. I think the differences between the two birds may well be related to age and the fact that this bird is in high breeding condition (the electric blue lores were really cool).

Comments welcome.

Best,

Marshall Iliff

eBird Project Leader

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Marshall J. Iliff
miliff AT aol.com
West Roxbury, MA
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eBird/AKN Project Leader
www.ebird.org
www.avianknowledge.net
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Ithaca, NY
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