Great Blue Herons are among my favorite birds, and I got to watch this one for almost an hour on Saturday. I'm glad I had the small pair of binoculars that lives in the Jeep!
He had a fish when we arrived and dispatched it with great concentration; then groomed himself thoroughly after his meal. He appeared to take a brief nap, but was awakened by the sound of a VERY large fish jumping. In minutes he was on the hunt again, stalking through the shallows as in the small picture at the bottom of the page.
You can read more about these big, prehistoric-looking birds on the Missouri Department of Conservation website, HERE.
It was so incredibly peaceful...I loved being out at Rocky Hollow with only a few other people; it's a small lake but wondrously unpopulated for a cool, sunny weekend.
The view at the top COULD have been at the lake, but in fact it's a bit of landscape sandwiched in between our library and the local radio station. I sketched it while Joseph went in to return our books...
Beautiful sketch Cathy. What sketchbook are you using? It sems to handle water quite well...
ReplyDeleteThe heron is just beautiful and that is so his stance. Love the simplicity of the sketch above it.
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