TIMOTHY HERON

It was a beautiful day at Eagleman’s Pond  when Timothy left his nest hidden in one of the tall trees. He flew through the currents of air and landed on the ground by the water. The bird stood with long, thin powerful legs and took in the golden light of the sun. His life was going great and all was well with the world. He felt young, strong, and invincible.” How wonderful life is for a great blue heron,” he thought.

He was a handsome bird and he had not reached his full size. Timothy had blue-gray plumage, stood about four feet tall, and had a wing span of about five feet. He was proud of his wings which were blue-gray and the top side of his wings had white feathers. Timothy had one thing he did with perfection– the art of flying. He practiced every day and he wanted to be the best in all bird kingdom. He was born to fly and it gave him great joy.

Timothy loved to soar and ride the air currents down to the surface of the water. The spray from the water, as his wing skimmed the surface, helped cool him in the hot summer wind. His neck retracted as he flew. When he was on land or in shallow water, his neck would expand.

Timothy was also proud of his legs. They were slender and he walked slowly while hunting for food. He loved to grip the mud with his long, skinny toes. Timothy’s bill was sturdy and thin,  shaped like a harpoon. He was a non-swimming water bird that stayed close to shore waiting patiently for food to come to him.

Timothy loved fish and the pond was full of them. His stomach rumbled with the thought of mollusks, frogs, and other insects that loved the water. Most of all, he enjoyed eating mice. There was always more than enough for him and his bird friends. He would sit and wait patiently for his food to come to him. They always did because he was good at finding food. His bill would spear the fish and he would swallow them whole. A few of his friends died from eating fish that were too big. Timothy was proud of his self-reliance and independent nature. His confidence in his accomplishments and abilities gave him strong self-esteem. Little did he know that in the days to come, that would all change. ( Continued in Part Two.). The following references were useful in writing this story.

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Wikipedia.org. Great Blue Heron.

Audubon Guide. Great Blue Heron.

National Geographic.com/animals/birds/great-blue-heron.