Bird Voyeur

The sweet little digital camera that the hubby purchased (after I dropped our old one) has encouraged me to do a little more walking.

Last week I took it with me when I walked up the "creek" path, which doubles for joggers and bikers as well. I've seen beavers, mink, deer, birds, birds, birds, and once the tail end of a bear run running away through the brush. Of course, without a camera. Now I carry it often.

This time I was watching the Belted King Fisher performing an acrobatic display and chattering at the ducks and geese in his fishing territory. I was zooming in on him in a tree across the water when I spotted what I thought was a huge wasp or hornet nest very high in the tree. (Thanks to Susan for bringing up bee's today.)

The heavy binoculars were at home, so I continued to try to see it through my camera. Then, a weird movement caught my eye. What I thought was a giant paper wasp nest was really a Great Blue Heron sleeping on one leg with his head beneath his wing.






I sat down on the pavement and watched for 10-15 minutes, while joggers and dog walkers stopped and asked me what was so engaging. No one found it as intriging as I did.
Finally, he woke up and began a preening process and I continued to observe. A bird voyeur I guess.



















When he finally descended in a graceful swoop, he stayed close by. He was a super model - and the creek was his catwalk. I think he knew I was his personal audience.

Comments

Karmyn R said…
Although beautiful - they still give me the willies, just a little
Amanda said…
Yeah, what Karmyn said!
Robin said…
Karmyn and Amanda make me smile.

THIS was a gift, don't you think? I can sit captivated at times like that, too. I've camped out at anthills, watched a spider wrap its prey, spied on gators while they awaited a feathery lunch... nature is grand and worthy of voyeurism (much more so than reality TV)!
Anonymous said…
Gorgeous! I have a few pics of "our" blue heron, that I've been meaning to post, but none of my photos are as close as yours. That is awesome!

I drag my camera around everywhere these days. Today I had it with me at the auto mechanics.

Um, no shots there, though;)
Anonymous said…
(GRRRR - stinky Blogger ate my comment. Let me try this again.)

Gorgeous pictures! I don't think we have blue heron around here - if we do, I've never seen one. I'm absolutely fascinated with birds, insects, spiders (as long as they're not ON me), so I've really enjoyed your posts this week. If I ever get around to uploading the pics from my camera, I will have a "nature" post sometime this week.
Claudia said…
how gorgeous!! this morning I got to see an egret...I love those moments...
SongBird said…
Ooooooohhhh....I love these pictures. I simply must get a digital camera. If I keep saying that maybe Santa Claus will bring me one!

Blue herons are prolific in my neck of the woods, but I never tire of watching them.
M J said…
Those are wonderful shots! Herons are beautiful.
Maria said…
I am such a bird idiot. When I first glanced at the top pics, I thought it was a um...vulture.
Anonymous said…
You take beautiful pictures! Wow.

And, if it helps, I dropped and broke our digital camera too. Twice actually. The first time it was fixable, but the second time I broke the display. *eek*

The new one is better, though I spend my time taking rather ridiculous pictures as opposed to your glorious nature shots. :)
Beautiful photos. I find myself typing that more and more on your blog. So tell me something. Are you painting any of these beautiful photos? If so, I'd love to see them. :)
Great shots!! How fun! And good for you to motivate to walk. Maybe my new digital camera will motivate me to walk... hadn't thought about it....
Anonymous said…
I love to visit you blog because it's probably the only way I'd ever see these beautiful creatures!
Shauna said…
The creek path sounds like a wonderful place to be! From your pics you show us all a lot of the cool things that some of us don't get to enjoy.
Thanks!
Unknown said…
Hi Pamela, thanks for visiting me! Seems like a wildlife kinda week, huh? I keep an eye on our heron that lives in Fountain Creek in Colorado Springs. The creek is a long way from my house but you can usually spot him from the interstate overpass. I also watch the skies for him as well. He looks like a pteradactyl when he fly's. Great shots of your "giant paper wasp nest"! I didn't know heron's would sleep in trees. Now it makes me wonder where they nest.
♥Pam
Swampwitch said…
Oh my goodness. I just noticed your photo on your profile page. How long has that been there? I'm so observant. The pictures are great and I'm with Julie, are you painting any of these? I am so interested in the Sister Study, but infortunately I couldn't get to the info with the links on your comments. Please let me know how to find out about that as I want to share it with others.
Sunrunner said…
Cool! How close did you get?

We get herons at the fairground lake near our house. I'm always surprised at their size, I keep thinking they're smaller than they are!

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