Can you guess what is at the top of the tree?

I instinctively knew that this was not an ordinary bird! But what could it be? The light was fading and I had to rush to get the camera! What a pleasant surprise!

Well, well, well! A Black-headed Heron right here in the back garden of our complex and sitting on the high tree! A first for us and such a happy feeling! What a stunning beauty!

Such a graceful bird and a master mole catcher, that was obviously taking a short rest on his flying route!

It seems that he was pruning and cleaning himself prior to taking the final flight to his nest!

It was such blessing to watch this guy in action and we were hoping that he would stay for the night, but no go, as after a while he took off into the wild yonder! Nevertheless, as I write this I still think about his graceful movements!
They are solitary birds and are mostly found in open grassland, but at times also near dams where thay can stand dead still for long periods, waiting to spear their prey! Food includes fish, frogs, crabs, rats and of course moles!

Hope you have liked this surprise as much as we have!

Thank you for visiting a post by @papilloncharity

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Ah! Yes, good indeed as it is a bird!

:) .. I had guessed it right when I landed on your post and had seen only the 1st pic. When I moved down, smiled as my guess was right . Year.. great snaps.

A great guess congrats! You obviosly know your birds very well? Blessings!

Nice bird indeed but he use to eat some fish in our pond and we are not really happy. Everyone needs to eat, I know.

Oy Vay, I'm sorry about your fish. The birds all have a natural hunter's instinct! I will show you soon how the crows steal porridge!

It's always so exciting to see a new bird! And one as majestic and beautiful as this one!

Agreed Lady Melinda! I have a few other Heron's but this is the big daddy! Oh! I have a Crow that wakes me every morning and as I walked around to the back garden to greet him, the very same Heron came floating up to the high tree! Posted about his flight now! Blessings!

That dam near by, you possibly will start to see this heron becoming an annual visitor @papilloncharity lucky you!

I hope so Lady Joan but the dam is the territory of a Grey Heron couple and so it will be interesting if this big guy appears there! I will of course keep an eye out at the dam! Btw this same Heron came flying up again early this morning and I got some nice shots of him in flight! Posted about it! Blessings!

You make this bird sound so interesting, I don't know anything about birds, but this was very intriguing.
It truly is a beautiful bird, congratulations on spotting him.

Birds are a gift to us @lordnigel93, in fact all of nature is a gift to us! Once one starts exploring in nature, she opens up her arms and acknowledges us by revealing some of her secrets! Just enough to elicit a deeper interest and that's when her truths start to guide us in life! Thank you for the kind comments!

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