Come Walk with Me

I’ll leave the weird lyrics to Ol’ Blue Eyes. (I mean, seriously, check them out.) Me, I thought you might enjoy a virtual walk or two somewhere where it’s warm.

These first views are from the neighbourhood and are just fun.

The next ones are from the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch, where you and I have gone on other walks (as, for example, here, here, and here). Coming out of a Canadian winter, as I do, what catches my eye first after we get here is the colour.

But it’s the birds I come for. And the birds come for the water. When there’s not much breeze ruffling the water-treatment ponds, the reflections can be striking.

I also have a whole whack of shots of black-crowned night herons: I have a soft spot for them. After I took up bird-watching, it was the first unknown-to-me bird that I saw and identified by myself. (That red-orange eye had a little something to do with it.) They’re nocturnal birds so my usual view of them is like the guy below and on the left, but during two mid-day visits this year I’ve seen them up and about, like the guy below and on the right. Quite startling. Getting good shots is another matter, though, because they skulk under bushes a good part of the time, and move pretty quickly between skulking locations.

The night heron wasn’t the only hunter; a great egret was also taking an intense interest in a scrubby bush. They’re hard to see among/behind all the twiggy branches, so I’ve circled them in the bottom photo. I have no idea what they were chasing–nor whether it was one target or more than one–but I don’t think they caught anything.

I also saw a night heron at the edge of a pond in better light, but he took off almost immediately. Bird-at-rest camera settings are not so hot for bird-in-flight.

The pictures above are of adult night herons; these next ones are of a juvenile – also out hunting at mid-day. I am never so glad to be the size I am as when I get a clear view of a hunting bird’s beak. Yikes – I’m glad I can’t be for elevenses.

On my way out the park I spotted a great blue heron standing majestically on a tree snag. From most perspectives he was behind a tangle of branches, but I finally found a good place to stand with an unobstructed view when zoomed.

But it’s not all-nature-all-the-time; sometimes it’s a breakfast/lunch diner close to nature. Let’s end today’s walk with a fun shot from the restroom/washroom down the street from the Riparian Preserve.