Beautiful Great Blue Heron Sticks the Landing Nbr 2

Great Blue Heron Sticks the Landing Nbr 2 – babsjeheron

She’s gathered up all the time in the world
— nothing else — and waits for scanty trophies,
complete in herself as a heron.

Denise Levertov
The Great Black Heron [Excerpt]
Sands of the Well

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So, about the title of today’s post? If there were Avian Olympics, surely this Great Blue Heron would take Gold for sticking that landing… Ahem.
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There are rhythms to the lake, and the creatures there are no less creatures of habit than we humans.

The life cycle of the flora in the cove is predictable and, unless the Canada Geese and their goslings have stripped the plants, pickerel weed thrives for weeks each July through August. The vivid purple-blue flower spikes attract beautiful butterflies and bees and other insects.

And the Great Blue Herons.

Plural.

You may think the Heron in today’s photo is the same Heron shown here, but you would be mistaken.

The location in the cove is the same, but the photos were taken 10 days apart, and the Herons are different, they are are a mated pair. It is fascinating to watch the pair jockey for position on that half-submerged tree: the male lays territorial claim there, and chases the female away.

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This photo is a variation of two earlier themes of mine: Great Blue Herons with Pickerel Weed and Sticking the Landing and here, too.

Thanks to Cheri and WordPress for this week’s WPC Challenge: Sweet. I have spent hundreds and hundreds of hours over decades in that cove watching the Great Blues nibble on insects attracted by that sweet pickerel weed.

Thanks also to Ben H and WordPress for their recent WPC Challenge: Variations on a Theme.

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From July 1 through July 30, 2016, I was the Featured Artist of the Month at the Summer Street Gallery. The Great Blue Heron photographs once again graced the walls of the lobby and theater in a one-woman show at The Center for Arts in Natick. In addition to the visual arts shown at the gallery, TCAN has a lively, dynamic lineup of upcoming performing artists.

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Through July 13, 2017 I was a Featured Artist at the Five Crows Gallery in Natick, MA. Drop in and see the work of the many wonderfully creative artists who show there when you’re in the area.

Five Crows is on FaceBook. To give the gallery a visit, please click here.

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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

The Tao of Feathers™

© 2018 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron, Kayaking, TCAN, Five Crows