Ah, surprise on the hill

Already, down by the creek, Japanese knotweed obscures a view
of the green heron’s usual work.

That’s why it’s a special treat to spy one up in the trees
casting a gaze across its fishing bill.

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Seeing things

It is easy to overlook what we are not prepared to see.

But a patient gaze will often reward long familiarity with a place.

Then the mutest shape might suddenly pronounce its presence,

like a Green Heron on the fallen ash beside Little Crum Creek.

. . .

Pennsylvania, like the entire eastern half of the United States, is part of the Green Heron’s summer breeding range.

I have spotted one here on Little Crum Creek as early as April and as late as August.

But I had never noticed one before squatting one day among the long-appreciated turtles of nearby Crum Creek.

There, with the slightest step, a yet unseen heron suddenly stirred the shade of a late summer day,

fully startled me with the raising of its head,

and assuredly prepared all our later engagements.

 

Green Heron

Distant ripples on Little Crum Creek signal the visit of a young Green Heron.

Dark cap, striped breast, and brown plumage all blend with the sandy creek bank’s morning shade.

But the heron’s bending golden legs step visibly into stillness.

Achieving a vantage to stand and fish, it is not easily perturbed.