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Dang, what a big bird

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A great blue heron (Wikipedia)

I got out of the Jeep in the driveway in front of my house earlier today, and the biggest bird I’ve ever seen lifted off from the front gable of my house and lumbered out over the woods like an overloaded 747. It was huge, with a five-foot wingspan or more. It almost certainly was a great blue heron. If a stork on one’s roof is a sign of good luck, I believe I’ll assume that a heron is good luck too.

I have a lot of work to do learning to recognize bird species. A few days ago I saw a pileated woodpecker. They too are an impressive bird, and they make a wild, gooney-bird sound in the woods.

It speaks well of the health and variety of the local habitat that such a wide range of species can be seen here. I was amused, listening to Bill Moyers interview Michael Pollan recently, to hear Pollan say that in areas where there is an overpopulation of white-tail deer (like here), hunting them and eating them is good food policy. From bears to foxes, we’ve got them here. The little streams seem healthy, with plenty of minnows and tadpoles this spring.

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The heron left a heron-size poop streak on the roof of the house.

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