Heron afternoon

This one showed up on the veranda one hot afternoon while the dog wasn't around. I was inside reading and when I went to get the camera it flew onto the bird bath, as you can see.

The Heron returns

Our regular visitor was back the other day checking for tadpoles and frogs. We're going to have to do something so that some of them survive this elegant predator.

Visiting White-Faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae)

Every day a heron drops by to see if there are any tadpoles in the ponds to eat. They're very difficult to photograph because they're so cautious and will fly away at the drop of a hat. In The Wind in the Willows Rat tells Mole how particular herons are about who they'll talk to, so I guess herons in the northern hemisphere are probably as cautious as those native to Australia. The White-Faced heron is found all over Australia, except in the middle of the western desert, as well as in the islands to the north and the sub-Antarctic islands to the south. They are not uncommon, tend to be solitary, and when we have had two show up at the same time, the second arrival disturbed the first and they both flew off before I could get the camera ready.