Herons are beautiful birds. So big -huge wings and very distinctive in flight. When on the ground they often blend into the background, but here are some pictures I’ve taken this month. This one down at Victoria Park:
Victoria Park again – different day, but probably the same heron. I love it when they perch like old men in macs:
And another – almost certainly a different bird – at Mugdock last week:
One of the few blessings of lockdown has been our discovery of Mugdock. We always knew it was there, but recently we’ve been visiting regularly. Such beauty on our doorstep, and views like this:
We have a heron eyrie on our farm. This past spring four sets of nests lived in 100 foot tall sycamore trees down on the creek. There are astonishing numbers of spring peepers and other frogs that live in the wetlands below those trees. I think that is why they live there. Herons are talkative. They make me think of what dinosaurs must have sound. Apt, I suppose, since birds are the direct descendants of dinos. The presence of herons is usually considered good news (except for farmers who have just stocked their ponds with fish). They are top of the food chain predators. In my part of Kentucky it is considered very bad business to kill herons–they are good omens. To kill one is to kill good luck. Bad business indeed.
Yes, I have seen them fishing. I think it’s amazing that such big water birds make nests in trees as well. Incredible birds.