So We Meet Again - My feathered friend!
I can’t believe it was about 4 years ago when I first met Henry. I was walking the boardwalk with my camera at Shem Creek in Mt. Pleasant, SC, doing a little bird watching when this beautiful Great Egret appeared right in front of me. He was standing on the railing of the boardwalk, unafraid of me or any other person that walked by. As I photographed him I kept getting closer and closer. I’ve told the story before, but that’s when a lady walked by and said, “That’s Henry! He’s here all the time.”
I nicknamed him Henry the Great, because he is a Great Egret and is like royalty around Shem Creek. All of the locals know him and love him. The fishermen will toss him fish, so he associates people with free food. :)
He will let children come up to him and point and stare in awe. He will let people video him, only moving if someone pushes the boundaries.
Jen and I spotted what we thought might be Henry about 15 minutes earlier. He was walking down a floating dock to where a young couple was sitting enjoying their Valentine’s Day afternoon looking out over Shem Creek. It looked like he wanted to join the party. :)
We walked down to the end of the boardwalk and Jen said, “Wouldn’t it be great if Henry paid us a visit?” Right at that moment down he flew, landing on the boardwalk railing, as if on cue!
There I was face to face with Henry, once again. I was so close to him that I actually had to back off because of my zoom lens. It was like we were long lost friends, getting reacquainted. I took a number of portrait shots of him and when it was time to go he flew on down to visit with other people.
We had just hung his portrait, Henry the Great, in our family room earlier in the week, making it an permanent part of our art collection. When we turn off the lights at night, we say, “Goodnight Henry”. He’s become a fixture in our house just like he is on the boardwalk at Shem Creek.
It’s now coming up on breeding season for Great Egrets, so Henry I’m sure will be rather busy for awhile! :) Lots of opportunities for birding over the next few months.
I have just finished a large 48”x36” pelican painting entitled Atop His Ivory Tower, and plan on starting another pelican portrait in the next few days. I’m committed to producing a series of pelican paintings in 2022 and making it the year of the pelican. :)
Thank you for reading my blog and for your interest in my photography and art!
“One of the joys of being an artist is having the freedom to follow my passion….”
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Drawing by William R. Beebe