Curious Fish – Majestic Birds

I lower my toes to test the water. It is comfortably warm, so I step in up to my calves. Immediately three fish—the largest about five inches long—come to check me out. I can’t identify most fish, but I think they must be sunnies. Sunfish are curious and will nibble at almost anything. Hoping they won’t try to nibble my feet, I check them out.

Bluegill - Wikipedia Image

These may be Bluegills.  I get a net, hoping to catch one and put it in a bucket so I can compare it to pictures in my fish book.

My feet and the net go back into the water. A bigger brother to the small fry shows up. He’s got to be eight inches long. I make a swoop with the net and he’s gone. I forgot that water refracts an image. I must have aimed for the wrong spot. Besides, my reflexes are much slower than his.

Great Blue Heron - US Fish & Wildlife Photo

Later, when both my husband and I are swimming, we look up to see two large, majestic birds flying slowly and gracefully toward us. Each with a wingspan of more than five feet, they dominate the sky. We hear the wind in their wings as they pass overhead and watch as they touch down at the near end of the lake. Now we can see the blue-gray feathers, long legs and necks of this Blue Heron pair. Just as there is only one swan couple on the lake, this is the only pair of herons. But I’d not seen the two together before. I consider it a lucky event whenever either makes an appearance.  After their brief visit in the shallows, we get an encore performance as the pair take to the skies, winging back up the lake.