(This is something I journaled & drew a few years ago when I got to be friends with a great blue heron.)
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They looked really big when they were flying in the sky, but one day I rounded the corner and saw one standing on the footpath, it looked surprisingly small. What surprised me even more was it didn't seem in a hurry to fly away.
Actually, I had seen this bird from a distance for several days now and admired it for its beauty and regal carriage. Maybe it sensed this in me and knew it didn't have anything to be afraid of.
"Can we be friends?" I found myself saying after a while--can I give you a name? It seemed he just looked at me asking what name I would suggest.
"I don't know. 'Harry', since you're a Heron?" Birds don't have eyebrows so can't make expressions like people, but somehow, I got the distinct impression he almost winced with that name. I felt like he almost whimpered after that, "Do I LOOK like a 'Harry' to you?"
"What about 'Little Boy Blue'? Herons are huge birds, but for a Great Heron, aren't you Little one? And you're a Blue heron, so..."
Herons don't smile either. But as sure as I felt his disappointment a few moments earlier, I sensed the bird's pleasure at hearing the new name. I didn't need a hearing device to pick up the distinct "Yeah; that's more like it!" in the air. He gave a slight nod, spread his wings, and went home.
