Mike Powell

It is always interesting for me to see two species interact—you never quite know what will happen. Last Sunday, I was in the bushes in a local suburban pond area, pretty close to a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias). He seemed to be willing to tolerate my presence, though there were a lot of bushes that kept me from getting a clear shot. I photographed several encounters between the heron and Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) that live semi-permanently at the pond.

I took the first photo just after the heron made a threatening gesture with his beak at a goose that must have invade his personal space. The goose appears to have gotten the message and looks to be exiting the area. At the time of the shot, the sun was bright and was reflecting off the water, somehow turning it almost turquoise in color. The branches of the bush get in the way a little, but don’t detract too much from the charm of the photo. The whole effect is to make the image look almost as much like an illustration as a photograph.

“I need my personal space.”

The second photo is much less action oriented and is a study in contrasts. The goose seems to be looking at the heron with wonderment and curiosity, while the heron seems to be cool and disinterested. The background reminds me a little of a psychedelic image from the 1960’s.

“How did you grow to be so tall?”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.