Capturing Henry with a camera of course!

Henry is a heron.    He rules his pond.  Oh sure he allows the duck families to live on the pond.  Or geese to stop for a rest before heading south for the winter.  But don't you dare let another heron onto the pond save that of Henrietta of course.  She's always welcome.  And the things that live in the  pond, that's dinner!

He's not exactly a camera hog.  Well he's not a hog at all, actually.  He's a heron.

To get a picture of Henry is not an easy task.  But just before my dinner, Henry arrived to feed and patrol his pond. 

 

I quietly stepped out onto the side porch and with the zoom extended as far as it would reach I got this picture of Henry.  A bit blurred perhaps because of the zoom but a great picture nonetheless. 

 

While we ate dinner, Henry being a bit perturbed by my presence taking his picture, he disappeared into the marsh.  Though we could no longer find him even with the telescope or the binoculars we guessed he was still among the marsh because when he moves on he squawks quite loudly.  And we hadn't heard any squawking.

 

After dinner, with our eyes still fixed on the marsh Henry made his move.  Henry, you really got to give up the squawk if you want to be stealth, just saying!  He's a big bird with a big wingspan so we watched where he went.  He had gone over to the River to escape my camera's lens, I'm sure.  He landed on the dock.

 

We decided to go over to the dock perchance he would still be there.  I headed out with camera in tow and decided to get my jacket out of the van because it was rather cool.  Wait it's August in Virginia and it's cool enough for a jacket.   August. Virginia. Cool. Jacket.  Those 4 words don't belong in the same sentence. 

 

I got my jacket and locked the van with the remote.  You know what happens when you lock the van with the remote.  "Honk!", says the horn.  Okay, Henry, agreed, I'm not very stealth either.

 

We headed down Riverside Drive half expecting Henry to be gone, remember the honk! 

 

 But there hiding under the dock was Henry.  Can you see him? 

 

 

Gotcha!

 

Can you see him better now?

And so he takes flight.

 

We circle around Riverside Drive and there is Henry. 

 

Is he posing for me?  Strutting his stuff?  No probably not.  He's standing real still hoping I'll think he is a statue.  He thinks to himself, she saw that heron statue at the end of the drive I'm just another statue, really.  There's a heron statue in the house, remember.  I'm just another statue, don't you believe me. 

Oh no Henry, you are real.

 

The camera clicks and Henry takes off.

 

 

Just look at the wingspan.  I am impressive, aren't I, thinks Henry.

 

 

I think Henry contemplates hopping onto this boat to escape the click of my camera. 

 

 

Anybody home?  Shucks there's nobody home and that boats not even in the water.

 

Can you see me now?

 

You'll see me when I take flight?

If you didn't see Henry in the photo before this one now that you know where he took off from go back to the previous photo and find Henry. 

 

And so Henry soars off to buoy in the distant river waters to escape my camera's lens. 

 

 

Oh Henry.  Thanks for the pictures. 

 

You can rest assured that I have left the river with my camera.  Your home is the pond where your antics are entertainment.