Out of the blue

Just a few pictures today, all of a Blue Heron perched in a dead tree over at Whimsy Pond. I noticed it immediately as I drove up the road, for obvious reasons, and while my arrival made it a bit restless it did remain in the tree long enough for me to take a few photos:







I was actually about to snap another photo when the heron decided to take off. However, the noise it made as it launched itself off the tree—a very loud cross between a squawk and a caw—startled me so much I nearly jumped into the pond; I swear, for a crazy split second I even wondered if it had suddenly turned into a pterodactyl or something on me. No, really—check out these photos of it in flight and tell me it doesn't look like something that'd be right at home in Jurassic Park:





Suddenly the theory that birds are descended from dinosaurs doesn't seem all that far-fetched, does it?