A FEW AMAZING IMAGES OF A HERON FISHING PLUS ANOTHER AWARD

I did not mention it yesterday but we were awarded another honor this week. Jim over at http://holesinmysoles.blogspot.com/ awarded us with the Stylish Blogger Award. I finally got style!!!!! Thank you, Jim. We had a great night at the awards ceremony, even though you sat us behind Charlie Sheen. What a jerk, although he did have two interesting women with him as guests. I guess one was his yoga instructor/ nutritionist. They kept talking about positions and tiger's blood???  Anyway, thank you so much for this honor, it is truly appreciated. For the one person who has not been to Jim's blog, check it out!! He has really interesting ideas and images to boot:)))

As readers of our blog are aware, we have been visiting a few nests in our community: actually two: one heron nest and one Sandhill crane nest. The other day when I arrived, I saw one of the adult herons across the lake on the shoreline. It was walking along looking for a meal. How any creature that large walking on those long thin legs can look so graceful is a miracle of nature! Their legs are hollow which allows for them to be able to fly and not be weighed down.
( REMEMBER TO CLICK ON ANY IMAGE FOR  A LARGER VIEW)

I started following him directly across the lake, moving along as he did. Now this may sound easy but it was not. The shoreline was on an incline and I was about a third of the way down. There are holes all around (dug by some creatures) that you need to be aware of before you break an ankle. You could also trip causing you and your equipment to take a header into the lake. Oh yeah, a very nice guy (Willie)  stopped by to chat and told me there is a ten foot alligator in the lake!!! Great, now every time a fish jumps up causing a splash, I am looking at its direction, looking for this alligator. Okay, so I am trying to follow this heron while walking with my camera on my tripod. I am on an eight foot incline with holes, keeping an eye open for a ten foot alligator! Oh, I didn't mention that part of the time I am walking under the two nests or one of the two adult herons. Why is this important?? Well, it seems that they have a very good digestive system and food travels through it at quite a fast pass. You do not want to be under one when they do. This is not anything like being under a pigeon, more like being under a bucket of white paint, a large bucket.

So you get this: eight foot incline, holes all around, ten foot alligator and the chance of being covered in Heron guano!!! AHH, GOOD TIMES AINT WE HAPPY WE GOT THEM!!!! But I persevered just for you good people. Must keep this blog going if not the awards will stop. Actually after this post, Jim might be taking back the stylish award.

These birds are so interesting to watch while they hunt/fish. They walk along looking down into the water for prey, walking slowly and gracefully on these thin awkward looking legs then they will stop and freeze. They will not move at all. Then their necks will move into a classic S curve which allows them to generate speed when they lunge forward to spear their prey with their sharp powerful bills.

The next two images are what I consider the amazing ones, at least in my personal photography history. Maybe you see images like this all the time but I know, I don't.

After it speared the prey, (a fish), it took it up on the grass to eat which it did very quickly.

                         Here are some more images from my fishing day with the herons.

      In the above image you can see how slowly and gracefully it places it's large claw into the water!!!