Heron Poetry 2013

Oh, to be a heron dad
With head in the bushes, and toes in the sand.
To majestically stand, and contemplate,
The number of big fat catfish I ate.

And a heron standing by the water's edge,
Hidden by saplings, reeds, and sedge;
Captures fishy, froggy, or mousy prey.
It's all in the hunt of the day.

A heron dad eating endless prey;
Fish after fish, up to 13 a day
Is not getting fat by eating so much;
He's simply providing for his exceptional clutch.

As Mom incubates, alone on the nest;
Dad stays out hunting, all day without rest.
Though fishies may dive, and froggies may wallow;
All are fair game, for Dad soon to swallow.

For five oval eggs are soon to be pipped;
And then hungry babies, no meals can be skipped;
So rodents may flee and frogs may hop;
But what goes down Dad, soon will come up.

In 2012, much worry was spent
On a GBH egg with an acci-Dent.
But, membrane intact, the hatchling survived
And with its four siblings, at Sapsucker it thrived.

Heron parents are ready, and chatters are primed
A pip any moment would be very well timed.
On the edge of our seats, as we all wait to see;
Which egg will pip first? Oh, which will it be??

As chatters may wring their hands, and fret;
Dad keeps on hunting, and Mom calmly sets.
Heron parents provide a lesson indeed,
And practice in waiting with patience we need.

We’ve watched parents’ backs, and beaks, and long legs,
GR’s taught us all about hatching from eggs,
It’s been a long incubation, our patience wears thin,
Let the hatching commence, and the clacking begin!

Another day passes, and on into night
We barely see Dad in the faint starlight.
Still he crouches, hiding from our view
The five eggs and maybe a pip or two!

And suddenly he stands, to check on the eggs
And hundreds of chatters try to peer past his legs.
I’m glad I’m alone, friends would think me quite nuts;
As I lean in to stare at grainy film of heron butt.

In the darkness of night, heron secrets hide;
We try to uncover them, eyes open wide.
There’s no use staring, squinting, or magnifying glass
Tomorrow must tell us if pip happens at last.

Invisible Dad heron, incubating at night
It’s after moonset, with precious low light.
If heronlets hatch before the morn,
First sight will be stars, for chicks newly born.

And then night took over, when chatters must sleep
As heron parents on the nest their vigil did keep.
And when we returned, chaos reigned, chat was fast;
The precious first egg had pipped at last.

And screen caps were taken, and eye drops were dropped,
And chatters were so excited they popped.
Children were unfed, and spouses ignored,
So hatching heron eggs could be adored.

So Mom Heron broods the three eggs that remain
Getting out of that egg, hatchling 3 strains.
Two brothers or sisters are clacking away
Encouraging 3 to make this The Day!

Out on Sapsucker, the herons abound;
In addition to parents, about 14 around.
Some young and some curious, approaching the nest
For their own good, staying away would be best.

-JMixx

I know you all think that it's best
To see me sitting on the nest
I'm catching catfish by the batch
so I'll stay HERE until they hatch.

—Jubjubbird

And, Heron Haikus:

ChiefWings: Heron haiku: High above it all~ waiting and meditating~ pondering the pond
Fanta Se: Flying heron chat; Waiting for the pip to show; Dad is sitting still.