Heron looking for early breakfast

Although I consider myself very fortunate in living where I do there is the odd downside. Perhaps the greatest of these is the fact that my garden is detached from the cottage so that I don't directly overlook it. This of course could be a deciding factor against purchase in the mind of a prospective buyer should I ever put it on the market - not that I have any intentions in that direction I hasten to add!

A near neighbour and friend though doesn't have my problem - she can step straight into her garden from her back door. But even better, her bedroom window with a low sill gives a lovely view over the lawn, flower beds and pond. The last named in fact can't be more than 20 feet away so it was with huge delight a few days ago and early in the morning (about 6 am apparently) that she a heron glide in to land by the pond! Now herons seem to like to be up and about at the crack of dawn looking for a tasty breakfast. My friend tried to move as stealthily as she could to get her camera but sadly she was noticed and the heron took off and was away. Perhaps a frog has been able to live for another day! No fish in her pond but plenty of amphibians. Quite some time ago she had seen a heron perched atop a holly tree in her garden that was fairly close to the pond and she said it was quite comical to see it on that particular species!

I have a pond, much smaller than my friends one, rather murky at the moment I'm afraid but happily always produces a few dragonflies. Like my friend I don't have fish in the pond and though I like fish in the same way that I like all wildlife I just cannot get any enthusiasm for buying some to go in a garden pond. Much better in my opinion to try and provide suitable habitats in the garden for a variety of creatures and hope some move in. Whether Mr Heron has paid my little pond a visit I know not but I have had grass snakes slither their way up to the pond and they are fairly spectacular when full grown in my opinion.

Presumably quite a few people with garden ponds have had herons turn up looking for an easy breakfast but at such an early hour these wonderful birds haven't been noticed perhaps.