downtown heron

I was walking over the Wisconsin Avenue bridge one morning at dawn, and there, wading in the Fox River was a Great Blue Heron. This was on the edge of downtown in Waukesha, with commercial buildings on either side of the river bank. At first I took in the ambience of the early light breaking over the river and did not notice the large wader. It was being very still, maybe stalking a fish or waiting silently, without movement, for a fish to swim by and then to stab it, in a trice. Meantime, he was there, yet he wasn't. If had been a fish, I would read the scenario as entirely safe.

I watched him or her for a while, to see if there would be any luck. He stayed motionless for a very long time, watching, peering down into the water. Finally, I left. Doubtless his patience would pay off eventually. So quiet. And the early morning atmosphere was misty, and was void of traffic or pedestrians.

The heron is one of those prehistoric looking big birds. They are persistent, and we are fortunate to have them in our company. I thought seeing this heron was a good sign that the Fox is getting cleaner.