Herons: the Birds of Stability

Hi, I’m Sasha - and I write Stories from an Anxious Traveler. I’ve traveled full-time in my RV since 2018. Each snippet will take you three minutes (or less!) to read.

I don’t consider myself a birder - but I do watch a lot of birds during my travels.

Cardinals.

Tufted Titmice.

Owls and bats: my favorites.

Herons.

Herons are not the most colorful birds. Certainly not the prettiest sounding birds. Not even the most prehistoric-looking birds; my vote for that goes to the Pelican, especially when it flies over the ocean and sands in Texas. (Or perhaps the Shoebill Stork, which I have yet to encounter, but desperately want to.) I am not a birder, but I am a bit of a fanatic.

Herons have become the stability birds of our travels. In places where there is water, there is nearly always a great blue heron, or a white version - the egret. These long-legged, long-necked birds help me pass time on my procrastinating mornings.

Within two weeks of hitting the road in November of 2018, before our time on the beach in Texas, I watched a great blue heron fish in the Kern River: a river known for its ineptitude to care for human life. The heron navigated it easily though on its spindly toes, tucking its head back to condense its neck, then thrusting it out once more. He scouted fish until noticing my ever-expanding shadow when he made a sound not unlike a farting quack and nearly tripped over his own feet as he took shelter in the nearest tree.

It was not the first time I had watched a heron, but the first on our RV life travels. That Bakersfield morning was warm, a strange feeling in November for a Portlander.

Last weekend, I watched a heron perch on a log that was balanced on the water’s edge near the Tennesee River. Many miles from California.

He dipped and grabbed a shallow-swimming fish. The fish was nearly the size of his entire neck, and he swallowed it so quickly that I thought he dropped it. Shortly after, the heron flew right over the dock near our campsite, his outline reflected in the calm water.

Herons. They are the stable birds of my travels.

Wherever I find a heron, I remember the reality that there are herons across all of America. It helps me feel at home, no matter where I am.

Thanks for traveling with me. This has been a simple piece on the heron, part of my ongoing series on wildlife that I’ve seen on the road.

Sasha