This is way cool.

Black crowned night herons are a favorite of mine, but most folks never see them to know them. I think of them and Mercury as similar. Once you've seen them to know them, you are a little different from then on. More aware somehow.

I was kinda surprised by the Black crowned night herons. We see them all the time at the old Maxey's boat dock (Maloney Rd. Park) in recent years. And I'm pretty sure there are a bunch nesting at Loony Island across from Sequoyah Hills. And we saw what looked like a nesting pair at Louisville Park weekend before last.

They are fairly nocturnal until they have to start feeding babies later in the year. Then they have to work all hours and we see them working their tails off hauling food back to the nest.

I have a fondness for them from my early days at Dagger. We worked around the clock getting the company started and finished molding one of our first canoe models late at night. we couldn't stand to wait until the next day to paddle it so we loaded up the canoe and some beverage and went out on Watts Bar lake after midnight. We were happy with the canoe and amazed to see blue herons fishing under every street light near the water. Then we noticed the night herons, which I had never seen before.

I had canoed in the yellow crowned night heron rookeries in Florida, but black crowned night herons had been pictures in a book until then. Now that I know where to look I see them often.

And if you ever have the chance to go out on a big lake at night in late spring, you'll be shocked at the activity.