Monday, February 26, 2007
Duck! I mean...Heron!
We had a bit of excitement at work the other day. I was at the counter, along with my general manager and one of the associates, when we heard a loud bang at the front window. When I went to check it out, I found a bird on the sidewalk that had crashed into the window. This isn't that unusual -- occasionally when we arrive in the morning, we will see some small sparrows on the sidewalk that have broken their necks flying into the glass. But this was no sparrow -- it was a great blue heron.
If you're not familiar with herons, the great blue is the largest in the U.S., standing about four feet high. I have seen them only on a few occasions, and until now only in or near water. And I have certainly never seen one fly into a window.
The bird quickly got up and started walking around. He (and we) were lucky he didn't actually go through the window. I don't think he was injured, although I wasn't about to examine a wild bird that size. I'm guessing he was just dazed, because he walked amid the shoppers passing by, and at one point even got up to a run. He didn't fly away right away, which I suppose might have been because he wasn't sure which way to go -- the sidewalk is covered, and there are large concrete pillars along the parking lot side, as well as hedges. But the heron was gone when I went home a little later, so I'm guessing he recovered and flew away having injured nothing more than his dignity.
If you're not familiar with herons, the great blue is the largest in the U.S., standing about four feet high. I have seen them only on a few occasions, and until now only in or near water. And I have certainly never seen one fly into a window.
The bird quickly got up and started walking around. He (and we) were lucky he didn't actually go through the window. I don't think he was injured, although I wasn't about to examine a wild bird that size. I'm guessing he was just dazed, because he walked amid the shoppers passing by, and at one point even got up to a run. He didn't fly away right away, which I suppose might have been because he wasn't sure which way to go -- the sidewalk is covered, and there are large concrete pillars along the parking lot side, as well as hedges. But the heron was gone when I went home a little later, so I'm guessing he recovered and flew away having injured nothing more than his dignity.
Labels: work bookstore birds heron oddities mishaps
