Pretty Is the Head Which Wears the Crown

I am fortunate in working at sites which encompass a lot of green space, representing a variety of environments.  In particular, we are blessed with a wonderful variety of birds.  For the past two years, we have had some of my personal favorites in residence, such as this gorgeous creature:

 

The picture is not great, it's difficult to take a mid-distance photograph against the reflective surface of the water, but the subject is amazing.  That is a black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), easily identifiable by virtue of its black crown, which trails two long white tassels.  These birds tend to be less shy than other wading birds.  Years ago, my favorite bird ever was a black-crowned night heron which would take up a position near a waterfall in the Bronx River, about a meter from the well-traveled biking/jogging/walking trail.  The prospects of a good meal outweigh all of the weird bipedal mammals in the vicinity.

This bird has found a spot in the local brook in which there's an inflow from the pond on our premises.  It's a good spot to hunt for critters washed downstream, so I am looking forward to seeing this bird in the coming months.