A Visit With Millbrook's Great Blue Heron

It was a fantastic morning for bird sightings. First, I pulled the car over to take a few pictures of the sunrise over the snow - or what passes for sunrise on these mornings where the sky overhead is nothing but gray cloud cover, just a vague lightening of the sky, a stroke of pink here and blue there - and there in the tree to the left of the path sat a hawk.

And then I drove down to Millbrook to see how it would look wearing its first real cloak of winter's snow. The parking lot had been cleared, which was good news; you can't always count on that this time of year. And so I parked the car and as I walked out onto the boardwalk with my camera (and car keys), I looked out over the scene and saw yet another hawk - this one a huge one - sitting on one of the bur oaks in the marsh. It flew away before I could get close.

But then, oh, then, marvel of marvels! Who should I see near the wooden bridge over Thompson Run but the great blue heron who has eluded me for much of the past few years! At first it was in the water to the left of the bridge. Then I saw and heard it lift up - darn, I was going to miss it, it was flying away! - but it simply flew over the wooden bridge and landed in the creek on the other side.

I don't know if you have heard about it, but the heron and I have a "thing" going. By that, I mean that I continue my quest to photograph it, and it continues to elude me, for the most part. Sure, I actually caught a quick snap or two of the heron once or twice. And there was that one visit I had with a green heron who meandered into these parts.

Those of you who have read about my quest to photograph Millbrook's heron on these pages can only imagine my thrill on this morning, when it actually conducted its breakfast fishing expedition calmly in the shallows and allowed me to take photo after photo of it! I stood leaning on the railing of the wooden bridge with my heart in my mouth, but with steady hands on the camera.

And what a show it put on! Dressed in an elegant gray and blue suit, with a lovely ruffle of a feather beard down the front, and a little bald spot on top of its head with blue tassels following on behind, the great blue heron strolled down the stream, almost looking like it was walking on water. It tilted its head, searching for fish.

It gave a mighty shake of its feathers by the side of the stream; a considerable effort. It walked through the golden grasses of Millbrook like it was king (or queen?) of the marsh. And then, finally, after I had taken as many photos as I wanted, it folded itself up, and flew away.

You might expect the song to accompany this image to be a tune about birds, but it's not, exactly. Oddly enough, it is a love song that I heard on the car radio on this morning, for the first time in a very long time. And I thought how much I liked the song and had sort of forgotten about it over the years. But it seemed appropriate here, on this morning, when every one of my great blue heron wishes had been granted. The tune is April Wine, with Just Between You and Me.

Love you, Great Blue Heron. Hope to see you soon.

Signed,
Your Biggest Fan,
The GirlWithACamera