"Patience is my name"
Some years ago a pair of bald
eagles decimated the Great Blue Heron colony in Beacon Hill Park here in James
Bay, Victoria, BC. They did it ‘Rambo’-style.
So we missed those tide pool fishers, but they’re back. Great Blue Heron nests
are placed high up in the trees, but ashore they appear to stand forever in the
shallows, or on a rock, awaiting their meal to show up.
The shoreline here is
strewn with driftwood and logs after winter storms. One section has a quiet,
pebbled beach and nearby is a bit of sandy beach, very small. That’s where
visitors spend time with children or dogs, with the odd person brave enough to
dip into the cold waters. The herons are far from this crowded beach.
These prehistoric creatures stand like
statues or mime performers a la Marcel
Marceau. An octogenarian with time galore, this morning I decided to go and
watch once again these long-beaked fishers at our shore. Years ago, we were
fortunate to have a teacher who taught patience. So now I intended to put my patience to the
test. Settling quietly on a log, I
waited together with the herons. There
were two, some 15 metres apart. Standing
like sentinels with alert eyes, beaks down, gazing into the tide pool, ready to
catch a fish.
Breakfast for me and my chicks
You could see, ever so slightly, a tiny movement of the beak,
while their legs stayed still. A picture
of rapt attention. Over two hours, their catch was 4 fish.
Off home, that's it for this morning
Then the winged master of patience took
flight, direction Beacon Hill Park. Thought we’d share this experience. Unlike
we humans who let millions of children go hungry or perish, Great Blue Herons
ensure their young do not go hungry - such is their instinct and timeless survival
ritual, helped by a tremendous dose of patience.
Henri van Bentum
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