ON MY MORNING WALK: The Heron Project, Part II
ON MY MORNING WALK:
The Heron Project, Part II
For me, Valentine’s Day this year held a
special treat. While looking for goldeneye and bufflehead ducks to photograph
at “Walden,” I quite by accident met up with a great blue heron, directly above
my head, looking for sticks with which to build a nest. (See https://morningwalkphoto.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-heron-project-part-1.html).
I watched him for a long while until he flew off to the top of a tree located
on a small island in “Walden,” and his mate, with his load of sticks. I was
excited to say the least at what I had seen and was looking forward to
photographing them through at least the spring.
But the rest of February and early March
were tough, with very cold temperatures and more importantly, several severe
storms that brought high winds, toppling trees, and local flooding to the “Walden”
area. The beginnings of the nest and indeed the great heron couple were gone ―
as though they had never been there. I was convinced that they had found a
better, safer place to build a nest at and to raise their babies. Then, exactly
one month after first spotting the birds, March 14, a cold crisp morning, I was
taking another walk around the pond having a serious “think,” when I happened
to reach the same place where I had seen the heron male on Valentine’s Day. I
looked up and was totally amazed to find him, again right above my head,
looking to gather more sticks for another nest.
He didn’t seem to mind my watching him
from so close as he went about his business. I reached into my pocket for a
small camera I almost always carry with me and managed to get these few
photographs of him as he went about his business and then flew back to the same
tree as he had in February, where his mate was patiently waiting more nesting
material. As he flew off, I remember thinking that I hoped that the weather
would remain “civil” and that in a short while there just might be some baby
herons to watch.
© 2018 by Hayato Tokugawa and the Kitty Mafia Art Worx™. All rights reserved.
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