I went to Kaena Point last week to take some photos of Laysan Albatrosses and I saw this juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) on a rocky shore at the mostwestern tip of Oahu. This is the subspecies (N. n. hoactli) that occurs in Hawaii as well as North America and most of South America. Its Hawaiian name is aukuu. Unlike continental birds, the Hawaiian Night Herons are diurnal.

This bird stood on a big rock at the edge of the ocean and I had to step on the rocks for the desired angle of view. I wanted to show the blue sky and also the ocean in the bokeh. When I reached the right position, a small wind arrived and made this crazy hair dew for the young bird and I couldn’t resist to photograph it.

Gear: Canon EOS 7D, Canon 300mm F/4 lens, Canon 1.4x extender, Manfrotto tripod.