Heron Signs

For some days I had seen only one of the young herons--moving in the branches of a neighboring tree, far from the nest--and I had seen neither of the adults.  The only encouraging sign was hearing a heron call--though I wasn't able to sight the bird.

Several times a day I would scan the branches near the nest, feeling discouraged, and wondering if another brood had been lost to the depredations of the broad-winged hawks who regularly hunt in the area.  

This was encouraging: 











Even if I couldn't spot the herons, plainly the tree had visitors.  

After a fruitless scan of the two front yard live oaks, I turned to go back inside, looked down at the sidewalk....... and got a surprise!

This is about 4" long.

There could be only ONE way for this little bream to appear on my front walk!  
I spotted two young herons moving in the branches, the better to hide from view.

Later that afternoon, we were seeing a friend out--at a fortuitous moment!  We witnessed three young herons being fed by an adult.  (It's something of a mob scene, as the young scramble, flap, and climb to reach the adult and be fed.  Evidence suggests that sometimes there is a bit of carelessness.


In the midst of our ongoing (seemingly endless) work at the lake, it's good to know that life goes on.