I was getting ready for church Sunday morning when I walked over to my dresser, near the bedroom window. This is what I saw:
our Blue Heron. I consider such a sighting a real gift because he is the shyest and sharpest-eyed of birds. Normally, if the Blue Heron were on our side of the lake and I stepped one step nearer to the window, he would see that, startle, and fly away. Today, I was truly blessed to be able to observe him for a long time, and even step to the window and take pictures. This time, I left before he did! I have wanted to show him to you for the longest time, but typically I see him at twilight, and on the far shore.
Wikipedia tells me that this is a young bird, because his bill is gray-yellow instead of brighter, and he has no plume on his crown yet. (Perhaps it was an older, more wily bird that I have startled in the past.) They have a wingspan of 71 inches, and weigh about 5 – 8 pounds. Whoa! I just know that, in flight, they are one of God’s most beautiful birds.
This afternoon I went out to take a “Heron-eyed” shot of the house. The bank of the lake shore is steep over by the cypress tree (that’s what you are seeing to the heron’s right). 
I tried to get down where the bird was standing, but really couldn’t get low enough unless I wanted to have wet feet, too. (All I could think of was “don’t lose your birthday camera!”) This is the view from the lake’s edge, looking back toward our master suite windows. Imagine the visual acuity of a bird that can catch the motion of someone starting in the center of that room and moving one step toward the windows.
