I know I posted a shot of Great Blue Herons yesterday, and I don't like to repeat myself, but this one was just too good to leave on the image-backup hard drive. This afternoon, I was scouting the Assekonk Swamp from the observation deck I often use as the climax of the nature walks I love to do with the sixth graders at the Wheeler Middle School—I'll be back, kids... I promise...—and I was in search of songbirds, ducks, and, although I figured I was too late, that Bald Eagle folks had reported seeing. No Eagle, but as I scanned the water, I spotted something that on first view appeared to be an obscure and leafless shrub. When I focused the Sigma 100-400mm lens on the mysterious bit of natural statuary, I quickly realized what I was watching: an absolutely motionless Great Blue Heron that was also scanning the Swamp. I'm guessing the stately bird was eyeing the water for dinner, rather than national symbols.