"Hunting" the Lake Riley Heron

I managed to quietly approach the heron and take some close-up shots without disturbing him/her. I'd venture to guess that given the foot traffic the park gets, the bird is used to the presence of humans, though perhaps not so many give it as much attention as I.
Bicycle: 2 miles @ 7:45 a.m.
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 72°F, 73% Humidity, Wind: From SSW @ 15 mph, gusting to 26 mph; feels like 72°F.
Course: To Lake Riley (in Cobbs Hill Park) and back.

Located less than a mile from our home is a small county park which includes (among other things such as a reservoir, basketball courts and a small series of trails) a small man-made lake, Lake Riley. (In truth, Lake Riley is really more of a moderately-sized inland pond.) I pass by the park many times during any given day, and often while doing so, my wife and I will notice the distinctive silhouette of a Great Blue Heron standing on the edge of the lake or in the reeds at the northern-most part.

Parking my bicycle near the adjacent parking lot, I spot the heron facing northward, the shaggy feathers below his beak blowing in the early morning breeze like some ancient mariner's beard. The Lake Riler Heron cuts quite an image as he seemingly watches over the families of ducks that float aroudn him/her.
Amid the trappings of an urban area, save the small park in which the lake resides, the bird always seems out-of-context. Most days when we notice it, I am without my camera and have (for a month or so at least) occasionally attempted to remember to bring my camera so that I might snap a picture of it. On those days, of course, I notice neither feather nor beak of (what I have dubbed) the "Lake Riley Heron."

This morning, however, I went for a short bicycle ride to Cobbs Hill in hopes of photographing the elusive Lake Riley Heron and was in luck.


Eventually, the heron becomes aware of my watching it and, tiring of humoring me, flies of to the other side of Lake Riley.
I look froward to checking back on the Lake Riley Heron from time to time to see just how he/she's doing...

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!