Thursday, April 18, 2019

Harry's Back -- and He's Hungry!

Those of you who have followed The Marmelade Gypsy for a year or more will be familiar with my favorite Big Bird (OK, my second favorite -- my favorite is the "real" Big Bird!")  I call him Harry the Heron and he lives at what I call the Ditch (a series of ponds created by the city for water runoff.)


Well, Harry is back! And he was hungry.


He was hunting, big time!


The dive for the big catch!


And very lucky indeed!


YUM!


He wasn't the only bird at the ditch. The geese are out in force. If you look to the right below, you'll see this one is nesting.


And this one, too.


But it is Harry that stops me in my tracks.


And it does mean that spring is really here, even if it's sometimes in disguise.


Gotta Fly!

44 comments:

bobbie said...

GREAT shot of him getting ready to fly!

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

Yeah for Harry! Beautiful photos

Anca said...

Awww, he is lovely. I see two herons on our walks with the dog. It's always nice to spot them. They fly as soon as we get closer, having a rottweiler does that to the wildlife, so we can't have a better look.

eileeninmd said...

YAY for Harry!. It is nice to see your heron return. Neat capture of Harry and his fish catch. Great photos. Happy Thursday, enjoy your day. Have a great Easter Weekend!

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

I love Great Blue Herons. We used to have them at the lake I grew up on in Michigan.

Misadventures of Widowhood said...

I love your Harry. Spring truly has come to Michigan. The crows are back to annoy me at my bird feeder. I let them feed during the recent snow storm but I'm going out soon to cover the top with tinfold so they can't do it anymore.

Karen said...

Harry looks like an Emu after his dive, hahaha.
No sign of our herons or loons yet. The big pond across the road is still fully frozen though the creeks feeding it are roaring!

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

These pictures are so awesome! I love that you see so much wildlife on your walks at the ditch. The action shot of the bird catching a fish is the best! We go for walks along a creek by our house but we only see birds. But I think Paul will enjoy seeing them on our walks as he gets older. Right now I don't know that he actually notices him. He's kind of "zoned out" on the walks!

R's Rue said...

Beautiful.

Miss Val's Creations said...

Harry is so handsome! I love watching the large birds wading and flying. So beautiful.

Mae Travels said...

So many birds are back in town, or just passing through. Len was birding for hours today, and his Audubon group saw over 50 different species!

I think my blog has dropped out of your list beside your posts, assuming that it's been there in the past.


best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

Valerie-Jael said...

Welcome back Harry! Hugs, Valerie

Barb said...

Yayyyy! I'm always glad to see Harry back. Has he ever had a girlfriend?

Lowcarb team member said...

So lovely to see your photographs of Harry the Heron - great shots.

All the best Jan

William Kendall said...

I find watching herons to be fascinating. They seem to have such patience.

Joanne Huffman said...

I'll take every sign of spring I can get.

Lynne said...

Great pictures . . .
Happy Harry is back!
I will take SPRING too!

At Rivercrest Cottage said...

Your photos are so very lovely. You have such an interesting area to discover and share. Thank you for this look at nature today.

Pamela said...

What great pictures! I often watch the herons and other birds where I live, but haven't been able to get a photo of the catch.

Jennifer Richardson said...

Wow - good catch, Harry! Not bad for a drain-off ditch. Very fine fish indeed.

I'm glad Harry is back. Joy to count on simple things like Harry at the ditch:)

Thanks for sharing, Jeanie:)
-Jennifer

David M. Gascoigne, said...

I am happy that you are posting your affair with Harry on line for all the world to see. And I am glad that Harry returns each year to keep up his end of the bargain.Also in the plus column for you is that you feature Canada Geese breeding. After all we want to spread the good stuff all over the world. I feel I should stand and sing the National Anthem - but I think I will eschew the pleasure! Say hello to Harry from all his online fans.

My name is Erika. said...

You got some super photos Jeanie. Our herons are back too. It is a fantastic sign of spring, isn't it? I think Harry is in mating feathers, not positive though but it would make sense during spring. looks like your latest snow dusting is long gone too. That's worth a big smile. Happy Easter weekend. hugs-Erika

Iris Flavia said...

Yay for Harry and spring being back! Love that last pic especially!
A beautiful bird he is.

shoreacres said...

Now, you can celebrate Spring for real. It's good to see Harry's back, and feasting away. I rarely see one of our herons with a fish; you're lucky to have so many photos of Harry caught "in the act."

Sami said...

Nice to see Harry is back at the pond. That last photo is a beauty Jean.

Victoria Zigler said...

YAY! Welcome back, Harry!

The French Hutch said...

Oh what great pics of Harry. Yes, he looks hungry and I see he's enjoying his local fare. Love all the pics but the last one is awesome! Happy Easter....

Judy at GoldCountryCottage said...

Harry is a gorgeous young man. I look forward to seeing him each spring..Great photos, Jeanie..xxoJudy

Tammie Lee said...

wonderful glimpses of your spring.
I also love watching the birds return!

Pam said...

Hey Harry! Beautiful pics.

Joyful said...

Beautiful heron Jeanie. Happy and blessed Easter to you and Rick and all of your loved ones :-)

Sketchbook Wandering said...

Wow! You have your very own Harry Heron (Handsome your Harry!) How far away from your home does Harry hang out? Cool to see the nesters too!! How lovely that you stop and take the time to observe, to see! The photo of the fish, amazing,but they all are.

Liz@ HomeandGardeningWithLiz said...

How fun and a sure sign of spring! He’s got some good fishing there!

Lauren @ My Wonderfully Made said...

He really is quite stunning!! I think it's so funny to see the geese nesting in 'normal' places like that. The other day I saw one had made a nest on one of the cement and grass 'islands' in the parking lot of the grocery store. It amazes me why they do that . . . so open. They always seem like such a nervous wreck and who wouldn't be trying to protect your nest in a place like that haha!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I'll be back soon to read about Harry, but for now, I need to give you this heads up.

For reasons I won't go into, I have been locked out of blogger. This is a devastating problem for me, especially since I am in the middle of my recycle campaign. However, I have set up a HOPEFULLY temporary blog to get me through until I can reclaim mine. Please tell everyone you know, and please visit me starting tomorrow (April 20) at:

https://alteredbooksandmixedmedia.blogspot.com/

Even if you don't normally visit me daily, I could use the support right now. Thank you and Happy Easter.

krishna said...

Love the way you took the pictures of every steps of his hunting!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Actually, your photos stopped me dead in MY tracks. Amazing. I loved the stop action of your shots. I can envision being there with you and Harry, too!

roughterrain crane said...

Harry looks elegant!

eileeninmd said...

Hello Jeanie,
I am so happy to see you link up your Harry the heron post and photos. Wonderful captures of the Heron. Thanks for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend. Happy Easter ! PS, thank for leaving me a comment on my post.

Pam Richardson said...

I am so glad Harry is back, he seems like an old friend! You do an outstanding job photographing him and he is quite the photogenic gentleman. Have a wonderful Easter, Jeanie!

Marilyn Miller said...

I love that Harry is back and what a catch. Your picture of him taking off is quite wonderful.

Anu said...

Hello. Great heron. Nice serie of photos.

Adam Jones said...

I really enjoy watching the Herons hunt. Lovely pictures.

Olka said...

Oh! He's so amazing!

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