Here's another urban bird story for this week.
I was stuck at a busy intersection on my way home yesterday, trying to cross on my bicycle. If I could summon the courage to make a dash through traffic, I would be home free on the bike trail, so with a foolhardy sprint, I shot out in the traffic, hoping these Chicago drivers would resist adding a bicycle to their scorecard.
It was close - I narrowly escaped becoming a hood ornament on a red SUV. As I pedaled to safety, I breathed a sigh of relief. Then a flash of white to my left caught my eye. I stopped and smiled when I saw what it was. There, not ten yards from the roaring traffic, sat a Great Egret fishing in the shallows of an industrial pond. Now, in my experience, these and other herons are the wariest of birds. But not here. Like fishermen everywhere, this bird was focused entirely on fishing, to the exclusion of all else. As I watched through my Nikon HG monocular, the Egret stabbed at the water and came up with a bluegill in its long beak.
I pedaled away with a smile on my face.
