Good News

Until this Saturday I had not had the pleasure of seeing and photographing Green Herons, and I have missed them. It is partially due to not having Music to walk in the parks.(He was not really up to it for the last few months of his life.) And it is partly due to the people working in the parks to save the wetlands. Invasive species have been laboriously removed to restore the habitat for birds and other creatures. Young marshes have been planted and barriers put in place to protect them as they mature. Now that the men and machines have cleared out, the green heron has appeared, wading happily in the mud and tidal pools between the marshes, and catching minnows. This one has caught a dragonfly to attract the minnows. Apparently they use insects the way fishermen use lures. Not sure if he ate it; I didn't really see it until after I downloaded the photographs.

I took the photos at midday, not the best time for standing in the intense and direct sunlight for any length of time. I felt quite weak and nauseous by the time I dragged myself away for the ten minute walk back home. Thankfully, I made it. People with cameras can be just a mite obsessive...

An extra of the wading one's companion who was fishing from a post. Also one of the sign that tells of the wetlands restoration, which is the sort of progress one is truly glad to hear about.