In the birding world, being a rarity has it’s perks. Now you don’t have to be rare in the overall scheme of things. It’s good enough to just be an irregular visitor that’s not usually seen in certain places. This kind of thing can draw a lot of attention. And so it is this summer with a group of Yellow Crowned Night Herons in southern Iowa. They have attracted bird nerds and photographers from around the state and that’s a great thing to see. We can often use a little spicing up around here as far as natural attractions go. This species is more typically found in the south, and coastal regions. They particularly like crustaceans, and you’ll see them snatching crayfish from the shallow waters of the marsh with great regularity. And I can’t say I really blame them for coming here…I’ve been known to travel a ways for a tasty crustacean myself.