The great blue herons have returned to the shoal this summer. We saw them often two years ago; last year they were occasional visitors. I photographed this heron one night this week. Notice how large the feet are. Herons will wade slowly, pushing fish or frogs or crayfish in front of them. Then their long neck snaps downward and the piercing, scissors-shaped beak catches the prey.
Last night we saw four of them standing guard on the rocks on the shoal, waiting for the full moon to rise. The water was calm, but the night was cloudy. Alas, no moon to shine on these large creatures.
There is another to notice in this photo. See how smooth the waves are? Using the Beaufort Wind Scale one could classify these waves as a light breeze of force 2, wind of 4-6 knots. In appearance the waves are small wavelets, with glassy crests and no breaking. On land a breeze like this would be described as a wind felt on the face, leaves would rustle, and vanes would begin to move.
The Beautfort Wind Scale is a really cool way to observe the movement of wind. It's something that I learned from reading a book on canoeing. This photo certainly shows the wave characteristics well.
Copyright 2011
Wanda Hayes Eichler
No comments:
Post a Comment