Heron Haggle

Today, I went to a top secret hidden location to get photographs of a King Fisher. I had seen it the day before landing on a flag pole where I could sit hidden and wait for it. Sit and wait I did, nestled between a Rosa rugosa hedge and junipers. Junipers give me an an instant rash and it was very hot there as well. The roses were prickly. Oh, did I mention the mosquitoes? We've had a mega hatch recently and they are monstrous in numbers and bites. But, I could not swat or flap nor move to the shade. I got a sun burn on one shoulder, in fact. For all of that, the King Fisher only appeared once and fleetingly. So, I didn't get any pictures of it. I'll try again in a day or two. In the mean time, there was a Great Blue Heron feeding on the mud flats. I wasn't very interested in it as I see them often. It also wasn't close enough to get the kind of shots I would want even with my obscene lens. I had given up and was about to leave when I saw a second GBH swoop in. Wow, was it nasty! The second one soared in and bit the first one which tried to get away, but wasn't fast enough. It was able to lift off from the water and fly away, but what a scene! I'm guessing that their wing spans are about five feet tip to tip. That's a lot of wings and legs. They look ricketty and fragile, but they aren't. They were loud, too sounding great, squawking 'ccccraaaaaaaaaaaaaacks!'