The Morning Rendezvous

It was a beautiful morning. I didn't have any extra time, but I had the distinct feeling that something was waiting out there for me; something special. (Do I have this feeling, always; this feeling of the magic out there waiting? I can't say ALWAYS, but yes, often, I do . . . )

I took a few minutes to swing by a little local pond, and I saw the bird as soon as I got out of my car and approached the pond. It was sitting on the railing of the dock.  I knew it was a variety of heron the very moment I first saw it, but it was smaller than your standard blue heron; more compact, travel-sized, for convenience.

I could see a spider web glistening in the light to the left, and the mist rising off the pond to the right. And there, in between, its pale belly warming in the morning sun, sat what turned out to be a green heron, quietly waiting for a fish to rise.

I have only seen a green heron perhaps twice before. I saw one at Millbrook last September. And there was that time I saw what I think may have been one at Muddy Paws Wetland (this is a picture of the Muddy Paws wetland on the day we visited and saw the bird; here is an additional shot of its lovely boardwalk in the morning sun).

Here is an interesting fact about green herons, courtesy of the Cornell Ornithology website:

"The Green Heron is one of the world’s few tool-using bird species. It creates fishing lures with bread crusts, insects, earthworms, twigs, feathers, and other objects, dropping them on the surface of the water to entice small fish."

Now, isn't that awesomely COOL!??? The heron was fishing from the dock, just like a regular fisherman would do! Green herons tend to hunt smaller fish, sometimes spearing them with their beaks. They are also known to plunge down on prey in deep water as well; with webs between some of their toes, the birds can swim underwater.

It was a delightful rendezvous. We shared the beautiful morning together for less than five minutes, the green heron and I. The water sparkled in the sun and glistened green with the reflections of the grass along the pond. Yes, something was indeed waiting for me out there; something very cool . . .

The song to accompany this image and story is Bruce Springsteen and the E St Band, with Rendezvous.