3.07.2009

Bird of a Different Feather

I am amazed by the wildlife here in Arkansas. Everything seems larger here, to the point of extreme. There is never just a breeze, but wind strong enough for the weather service to issue lake wind advisories. It doesn't just rain, it pours, and with it comes the flood warnings. Most of the time, thankfully, it's just sunny, and clouds for an entire day are rare. It's an amazing place!

I've seen these birds only a few times. They are huge. The first time I saw one, I was driving in my truck, and the big, blue bird had its neck extended. By my estimation, the top of its head probably made the bird as tall as me!

I saw this one in my yard when I opened the back door to let the dogs out one morning this week. It's head was up and stayed up until it saw the dogs, then it scrunched its head down and froze. I grabbed my camera and stuck my head out the back door just in time to snap this shot. Once the dogs headed out front and away, the bird took off. With the bird close to 200 feet away and my camera zoomed to the max, I wasn't able to find the bird in the viewfinder as it flew off. The wingspan looked to be about 10 feet!

Amazing!

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous3/07/2009 3:15 PM

    Oh please, you gotta find out what kind of bird this is. It looks almost like the Heron we have here in Michigan, but such a beautiful, vibrant blue--I have never seen such a beauty.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown3/07/2009 3:38 PM

    I don't know what it is! When its head is up, it has a long neck like a swan. I want to call it some sort of crane, but I don't think that's what it is....

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous3/07/2009 7:11 PM

    It might be a Great Blue Heron. I've seen a few here in upstate NY; I've seen 2 on separate occasions, standing, like in your picture, in a marshy area, but I also saw one flying. That was a sight! They're kind of prehistoric looking (my best adjective); something to do with the shape of their head and the way their neck curves, I think, when they're in flight.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown3/07/2009 8:19 PM

    You're right. That's what it is, a blue heron. I asked a friend of mine, and that's what she said it was.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous3/09/2009 9:44 AM

    Yes Blue Heron is right and they ARE prehistoric looking monsters when in flight. Wings move kind of slow like you would imagine a pteradoctyle (sp?) Terra-dock-tile flying. They stand around in low water to eat small fish and probably those peepers we love to listen to. lol! My husband Ron and daughter Grethen had a close encounter with a great blue heron when we lived in Indiana. They were horse back riding down a irrigation canal when they spooked one up and it flew over their heads scaring the beegeezus out of them and the horses they were on. I guess both horses did a quick "exit stage left" back towards the barn and Ron came back telling the tale of being attacked on his ride by a flying dinosaur.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)