that you can tell it is a female. a male would also have white patches in between the dark patches. i think that is pretty neat! shortly afterward i'd spotted a brief glimpse of a green heron who was perched quite low near the tiny little pond along 69th avenue. i was bummed because he flew up from his spot right along the trail as i approached. but i saw where he landed and i decided to see if i could close again. he was hanging in the taller trees now on the other side of the pond and i was then able to kind of sneak up on him 