Heron flying at Hope Mill Lane

I had to leave a Neighbourhood Development Plan workshop concerning housing in Stroud a little early, in order to pick Helena up from her teaching job near Brimscombe.  Regular visitors to this journal will know this often provides me with a blip of the river Frome close to where she works, and very often  it features beligerent swans.

They were close to me when I stood on the river bank but my attention was on the heron I'd spotted on the far side of the river.  My movement made it fly off before I could approach more closely but it only flew about twenty yards away.  I moved along the bank behind a small dwelling and found a way to get back to the river bank.

I only had a couple of seconds before it flew away again but this time I had the camera ready although I only had this relatively wide angled zoom.  It was standing on a outflow pipe ready to fish in the fast flowing water.  It obviously liked this stretch of the river as it flew back close to where it had come from before.

I didn't hang about, and went to collect Helena after only being there about three minutes.  I have to go to three more meetings this evening, which is three too many!  But after today I should have a bit more free time.