Field notes from September 9, 2017
I’m sitting on a boulder at the edge of the Umpqua River,
sitting quietly watching two lizards. The
day is still a little hot, but shadows grow long. A great blue heron flies to the rocky shelf
that reaches out into the river. He
pants and droops his wings. It is their
typical ‘I’m drying out pose.’
The heron stays put
long enough for me to sketch him. After
about fifteen minutes of sunning himself he moves down between boulders. I can’t see his body, but the angle of his
head tell me he is hunting.
When watching a great blue heron hunting ‘…you might imagine
you are watching a statue of this bird.”
John
James Audubon
He finally moves to where we can really see him, but not for
long. All too soon he flies.
The heron flies across the river and up onto an exposed limb
on a tall alder. He carefully
limb-walks, getting himself tucked under the canopy of the tree. The river valley will soon be in total
shade. Dusk is coming. I suspect the heron is settling in for the
night.
Such a beautiful bird .
ReplyDeleteYour an inspiration to enjoy the little moments in nature, Elva!
ReplyDeleteLove these birds. Love your art work too. You have such patience for watching and sketching them. Thanks for always sharing your work.
ReplyDeleteThat sketch of tree with heron - exquisite!
ReplyDeleteWonderful observations and sketches!
ReplyDeleteAgree with all of the above and especially the heron in the tree!
ReplyDelete