My Buddy!

I write a lot about the critters in and around the Bayou and Bay simply because they could be considered to be my friends. I am at peace with the world around me and that includes whatever creatures share that space. You could say that we live in harmony with one another since they obviously do not mind sharing their territory with a human counterpart. In a sense..we are one..as in one community.

One of my favorite critters is the Great Blue Heron. I wrote about the Green Heron and its intelligence..well, I am not going to compare the two in that category as the Green would definitely win out by far. Still, the Great Blue Heron impresses with its sheer size. It is huge! This bird can get up to four and a half feet tall! Granted most of that is it neck and legs but my goodness..that is one tall bird! Its wingspan can be about seven feet! Now to my way of thinking, that is one impressive bird if for no other reason! I guess that I really like this bird simply because of the fact that it is diligent. It has no problem working for hours to get its meal. It seems to like fishing..sort of like me! Perhaps you could call us "kindred spirits". Both of us can sit for hours..me with a fishing pole in hand and the Great Blue with its determination and skill. We both fish..and wait. Most of the time for both of us, the waiting is the bigger part of our fishing trips.

Most every evening when I am on the pier, there is a Great Blue Heron that sits on what remains of my Aunt and Uncle's pier. The bird has decided that one of the old posts is a favorite perching spot. The Heron will wade in the shallows while fishing and then fly to its roosting post. Here it can watch all that comes and goes without the fear of being bothered by any intruders. Here it can eat fish that it catches without having to share with any of the other critters of the marsh. It is also here that I can watch the bird. It will glide in, perch on the post, preen its feathers and then stare at me staring at it. I can only imagine that it is thinking the same thing about me that I am thinking about it.."Look, she is back on the pier trying to catch her supper. She is definitely determined to catch that fish!"

Lately though, there are two Great Blue Herons that vie for the roosting post even though there are many posts at the old pier. These two seem to battle it out for sitting rights. One seems to be a younger version of the older one and usually loses out when it the larger decides it wants the post. There is not much bickering like with the Red Winged Blackbirds or the Belted Kingfishers. The smaller of the two simply moves down a bit and cedes to the seniority of the older bird. The "pecking order" is merely a show of respect..the older demands it..the younger cedes to it. I had to laugh at the younger bird as it flew from the Bayou to the pier post..it looked so inept. Being young, it has not attained the gracefulness that its older friend has. (It looked more like it was doing some sort of "swan" dive than taking a short flight.) Usually, a Great Blue Heron flies with its neck tucked back..not stretched out like it is reaching for homeplate! ...One tidbit of information..no other bird flaps its wings as slowly as the Great Blue Heron. This is one way of distinguishing the bird in flight!