The Cormorant Returns!

You’re gonna get two posts today because I didn’t publish yesterday’s until this morning, by accident, and I saw just too much stuff in the park today to hold onto it. So, here comes post number two.

Things got off to a slow start this morning, and I didn’t see anything until I got to the pond, were I only saw the usual mallards, wood ducks, and a couple of green herons, of which this one was the most photogenic.

One fun thing that did happen at the pond was that Greg, who I only recently “met” on instagram, came by looking for the night-heron, but I hadn’t seen it today, so I left Greg to search for it, and I headed to the river.

There, I got to see another green heron fly in, whom I suspect somehow didn’t see me standing on the bank, and so it went straight to work trying to rustle up some breakfast.

This is when I think it first spotted me standing there, and yes, it appears that one look at me and the feathers on the top of its head stood straight up. I get that sometimes.

And this is right before it took off.

Sorry about that, little buddy. I thought you knew I was there and that you were cool with it. Oh well.

Anyway, we both moved on, and I found one of its big blue cousins fishing in the middle of the river at the north end.

I also glimpsed a hummingbird, which I think was my first of the season in the park, but I failed to capture an image of it. Dang! I sure hope there’s a next time ’cause “pics or it didn’t happen,” right?

So, I headed back to the pond, just to see if maybe the night-heron had shown up, and looky, looky, who I found!

That’s right, our cormorant is back and looking mighty contented with itself! Well, maybe not the same cormorant, but what are the odds that another, single cormorant would arrive in August, just as one did last year? Plus, this one was not shy at all, as though it knew its way around the place.

It even hopped up on the west lawn!

No. Not a shy bird at all.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, the night-heron did appear and was preening itself up in its favorite tree across the pond.

It even took a bow.

How’s that for a big finish, eh?