Right-Of-Way Dispute

Day 31: When a bird standing with its feet on the ground can meet you eye to eye, it would be extremely unwise to dispute trail right-of-way. I had dropped off the kitty quilt at the Nisqually Land Trust's offce before going over to Billy Frank National Wildlife Refuge to complete my "Junior Refuge Manager" tasks (something I'd begun on the day Crow's Travellin' Science Show presented on the subject of lichens). One of the tasks set in the Junior Refuge Manager booklet was to find a Great Blue Heron. On a normal day, you could easily find three or four out on the tide flat, but the boardwalk was closed for repair. Even so, there should have been one in the grassland or in one of the ponds. I had almost given up hope after talking to another photographer who had been there looking for them for some time, but as I started back toward the riparian area to complete another section of the booklet, I was brought up short by Heron standing motionless in the trail intersection. I edged around sideways to get a better angle, but Heron was not the least bit concerned. There was no doubt in his mind about who'd win a contest for space.