Look who dropped by

Every so often this fellow drops by and this time Harv had a camera close by.

Blue Herons are often seen in our area and it is fun to watch their antics.

This fellow seemed to have his mind on something but we have seen one try to get to the other side of the fence without flying over.

First he pulled his neck down so that his beak sat on his chest and then he bent his “knees” (do herons have knees?) until his feathers touched the ground.

Then, just like a duck, he waddled under the fence wire.  Once on the other side, up went his legs and up went his neck and he became heron height again.

 

They watch the creek intently and when they spot a fish or eel, they are lightning fast as they pounce and then fly away.

 

You can click on the picture to enlarge it – the herons have beautiful markings.  This fellow’s neck will seem to be blurry in the picture but that’s only because he has very fine, fluffy down feathers around his neck and the wind kept them in motion.

On the same day I laughed at a half dozen Mallard ducks - bottoms up in the creek and then on the driveway, a pair of Muscovy ducks looking very much like bald eagles from a distance.

It’s amazing what we can all see here in our corner of the Valley..