This week's For the Birds article

Here’s the For the Birds article I wrote this week for The Hour (Norwalk, CT) and Keene Sentinel (Keene, N.H.):

I’ve always liked green herons. I don’t remember the first time I saw one, but I’m sure I watched it for a long time.
That’s because every time I see a green heron, even today, I have to stop and watch it. I don’t see them nearly enough, but I make the most of every sighting. I love how they stalk their prey, often from a log or fallen tree jutting into a quiet pond.
I’ve seen them plenty of times in coastal  areas, but to me, these small herons seem more at home lurking near a small, isolated pond in the woods.
Such was the scene last week when I took a walk with my boys. While my main objective was to look for birds, Andrew and Will had frog catching on their minds. They had a measure of success last time in these woods and wanted to try their luck again. I put my foot down, however, and told them in no uncertain terms that this time we were looking for birds.
So anyway, while we were looking for frogs, Andrew decided to venture into an area where the pond had receded because of the dry weather. I have to admit, the swampy area did look awfully tempting. Will thought so, too, and followed his big brother. Before I knew it both boys were up to their knees in muck. Will had lost a shoe in the depths and was starting to panic. In effort to save his little brother Andrew sunk himself in deeper, too.
Luckily I was able to find some firm ground within arm’s length and pull both boys out of the gooey mess. Somehow I also managed to get Will’s shoe, which was dripping with smelly ooze. I’m glad I was around when they pulled that stunt. Hopefully they’ll know better next time. Another tough nature lesson learned.
Undaunted and barefoot, they moved to the next clearing to continue their quest for frogs. I glanced up just in time to see a familiar crow-sized bird fly over the pond. The trees eventually blocked my vision, but it appeared as if the bird was coming in for a landing not too far away.
I quietly walked away from the boys and toward where I thought the bird had landed. Sure enough, it was a green heron and, sure enough, it was on a log jutting out into the pond. With the boys otherwise occupied I grabbed the camera, focused carefully, and snapped a photo. I looked at the camera screen to see the results and saw “No CF card” glaring back at me. That’s the digital equivalent of not having film in the camera.
Years ago that would have been enough to make me throw the camera in that mud hole from which I just pulled my children, but I’m beyond that stage. I have other green heron photos and, besides, here was one of my favorite birds hunting a few dozen yards away from me. Why not enjoy the moment?
So, like I usually do when I see green herons, I found a comfortable rock and watched. It’s stealth and patience was amazing. It walked along the log in super-duper slow motion. It was moving, but just barely — all the while peering into the water.
By this time the boys were coming down the trail toward me. I hushed them, told them to slow down and come here. Andrew sat beside me and Will sat on my lap. We all watched the green heron.
The boys can often be short of attention span, but they watched intently, too. We all had a feeling this bird was going to get something soon. Sure enough, the bird diverted its focus away from the water and readied itself for an aerial strike. With lightning quickness and pin-point accuracy it snapped a large dragonfly out of the air. It takes skill to pick off a dragonfly with all the crazy directions they can fly and this bird had the skills. The boys were amazed.
We watched for a few more minutes and decided to call it a day. We headed back to the car — the boys empty-handed and me with an empty butterfly net and four soggy shoes. They got in their frogging and I got in my birding. Another good day all around.

For the Birds runs Thursdays in The Hour. Chris Bosak can be reached via www.birdcallsradio.com. His radio show, Bird Calls, air 3 to 4 p.m. Saturdays on WSTC/WNLK AM1400/1350 and www.wstcwnlk.com. Archives of Bird Calls may be found at www.birdcallsradio.com