This unusual looking bird is a Black Crowned Night Heron. I had no idea this bird was even a member of the Heron family until I looked it up in a bird book. As you can see by the picture, it bares little resemblance to an actual Great Heron. This big guy is shorter, but stockier. It is odd how the Black Crowned Nigh Heron’s body seems to end right at it’s back legs.  It’s an unusual looking creature and how exciting it is to spot one of these near your own backyard. These birds seem to be even more rare than the Great Heron which we often see near the neighbor’s pond after a rain storm.   I was fortunate to capture photos of this bird by neighbor’s backyard pond earlier this summer. The picture doesn’t do the size of this bird justice. It looks much larger in person. Clicking on the picture will expand it and perhaps give you a better idea of its true size. Unlike the Great Heron, the Black Crowned Night Heron, doesn’t appear to scare so easily. He remained right where he was even after I opened the back door to photograph him.  In fact, this bird surprised me in a completely different way:

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Is it a lazy brown fox or a quick brown fox? If you thought it was a quick brown fox that jumped over the lazy dog, think again. This brown fox (sort of red, but looks more brown in the photo) was not going anywhere.  We spotted this fox Sunday about 12:30pm snooping around the brush of our neighbor’s yard. By the time I grabbed the camera, the lazy brown fox decided to lay down on the soft cool earth and take a little snooze. I tried startling him; throwing rocks and even yelling, but he only looked back up at me long enough to yawn then laid his head back down and snoozed. This was the best picture of the lazy brown fox I was going to get today. Having put my camera away to sort through the photos, I picked out the best one and posted it in the photo gallery. Wouldn’t you know..by the time I put the SD card back in the camera, the lazy brown fox awoke from his nap and was prowling around our neighbors backyard and his fur was glistening red now and quite strikingly beautiful under the midday’s, bright sunshine. I darted back to get the camera, and the lazy brown fox or (quick red fox) had disappeared.

What a tease. Photographing a fox was nothing at all like snapping those pictures of the Great Herons. This lazy brown fox was neither frightened away, nor became much concerned when I opened the door and made all sorts of loud gestures to get his attention. It wasn’t until I left him out of my site that he decided to get up and leave.  Too bad – he was a very healthy looking, colorful fox. His dull brown fur must be the coat he puts on when he wants to sleep. Oh well, I’ve learned: When a lazy brown fox wants to sleep there isn’t much you can do about it.

Take one Arvada Spring day: mix in a fresh rain storm followed by sunshine and add neighbor’s stocked pond full of gold fish. What do you get?
What you get is the perfect photo of the perfect fisherman – and a beautiful bird known as the Great Heron. These awesome, big wonderful creatures love to go fishing in the spring after rain storms. Our neighbor’s pond, just 20 feet away from back door of our kitchen deck makes the perfect setting.  Unfortunately, these birds are extremely easy to scare away. If you have ever taken a walk outdoors near a creek, pond or lake and were startled by the sound and feel of the loud swoosh over your head, it is very likely that you got too near a Great Heron. Up close, Great Herons look tremendously big; especially when they spread their wings. Sadly, once they’ve spread their wings, you’re not going to see them too much longer. These birds can cover a lot of distance in a short period of time. This picture was taken first week of June, 2011.

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