Incredible Morning June 8, 2007

I was up and on the trail at 5:15 this morning. After days of rain off and on this brilliant sunrise was a welcomed sight. I wasn't the only creature who was pleased to see the sun this day. I was richly rewarded for my early arrival this morning as you will see....

I flushed my friend the Heron out three times from the bank as I walked around the beach cove on my way to the point. She would fly a few yards down the bank then tuck herself back into the brush and trees along the bank. The third time she took off arounded the point and disappeard behind the trees. I began to think the only way I would ever get a good photo op of this beauty would be to arrive early and park myself somewhere and let her come to me. As I rounded the corner on the back side of the point, I came face to face with a wild turkey. I followed him throught the woods and snapped a few pics before he took off. Just before his departure, I heard the unmistakable squack of a Great Blue Heron and caught sight of one with a fish in her mouth flyng low over the trees. Teasing me! I wished she knew I only wanted to take her picture, just wanted to capture that elegant beauty... Oh, well...I would stake out a quiet spot along the bank another day and hoped to catch sight of her again.

Finishing up my 3.5 mile route, I began to traverse the dam. A half mile from the far end I spotted a pair of Great Blue Herons flying along the far side of the lake. One landed in a tall pine about halfway to the dam but the other continued on. She landed on the bridge at the end of the dam just a pretty as, well, a picture! I was so far away but kept snapping the pictures and walking. I realized I didn't have my telephoto lens on. She waited while I changed lenses. I kept walking, slowly, carefully. Stopped and screwed on the monopod. She waited. I kept walking. Unbelievable. She waited. I snapped. What a beauty! What a gift!

Maybe she had heard my thoughts!

Time to go

My head was reeling with the splendor of the Blue Heron. I don't know why they stir me so but they are breathtakingly beautiful in my eyes. My heart was pounding and I was laughing out loud at the sheer joy of having had the opportunity to capture such beautiful shots of her. I glanced down the other side of the dam and caught this shy doe just before she darted back into the woods. What a morning!