This morning about 9, my CWS* announced that an AWS** had emailed saying that there was a great blue heron on the Mill Pond behind town hall.
It takes about seven or eight minutes to drive from our house to the town hall… I was on the scene in the parking lot behind town hall by about 9:15!
When I arrived the bird was atop the pile of rocks in the middle of the pond by the bandstand in Memorial Park. I got two or three frames before it moved to the far side of the pond and began hunting. The hunting was poor as I saw him/her make a single attempt to grab prey in about 45 minutes. At about 10 AM the bird moved from the pond to a tree near dam at the south end of the pond. After a few minutes of preening, (s)he flew again, this time headed east over Main Street and towards the Contoocook River.
I chatted briefly with the folks in Town Hall (including the AWS) and was back home before 10:30; not a bad way to spend 90 minutes.
Great Blue Heron #1
Great Blue Heron #2
Great Blue Heron #3
Great Blue Heron #4
Great Blue Heron #5
*Chief Wildlife Spotter; i.e. my wife, Joan.
** Associate Wildlife Spotter; one has to have a network! Thanks… you know who you are!!!
You got some great shots, Frank. We seem to have a heron drought here this year. I’ve only seen two or three all summer.
Comment by New Hampshire Gardener — 23 August 2014 @ 6:55 AM