We had friends staying in the Cabana a few weeks back. When walking their dog they mentioned seeing a large bird next to the pond. My bride also mentioned seeing a huge bird by the pond the other day. I assumed the diet was starting to affect her eyesight since I have seen nothing of the sort myself. But no joke this amazing Blue Herron braved landing in the back yard owned by a known squirrel killer (Haas). It stood next to the pond for about a minute while Haas lost his mind trying to get out of the locked back door. The jumping up and frantic barking got the birds attention an it flew off. So I let the dog out. 10 minutes later Haas is still barking, so I go to break up the party. He is barking at the fence and I Iook out to see the Heron sitting in the top of one of the trees. The bird is just sitting up there like a lightening conductor. I retrieve the hound and take is mind off things with a rawhide treat.
I go back to work and give it 15 minutes and check again. Yep, the bird is there. I quickly grab my big camera to get a good picture. Damn, why is the battery always dead when you want to use the camera. Granted I haven’t used the camera in probably 6 months but I didn’t think the lithium batteries drained. Oh well, I pulled the charger in quickly and snap a couple of shots with my phone as the dog hits the back door and the bird flies off again. This time I leave him inside and he loses interest quickly. I go back to work again and plan on checking again in 15 minutes.
Just as I guessed, the bird is back and I grab the camera with very slightly charged battery and hope it holds out for a couple of shots. I know the bird can see into the house so I walk slowly and try to stay back from the windows. I managed to get a couple of shots and off goes the bird again. This time I decide to let Haas re-take his ground and protect however many of the 50 goldfish in the pond are left.
I look up the bird and find out they are native to South Texas and are actually pretty common around local ponds. I assume since it took from 1979 till now for me to see one, I must not be paying attention very well. Apparently my highschool teachers were correct.
