Canada geese reside in my neighborhood pond. They are not “Canadian,” for they were named after the ornithologist John Canada and not our neighbors to the north. Perhaps this common mistake is part of the reason these fowl are so irritable. Granted, I’m charmed by the adorable goslings in early spring, but by this time of the year, they are grumpy adults like their parents.
Every now and then, however, I will see a great blue heron. This bird is “great” because of its size compared to other herons and cranes. Ardea herodias, like the geese, has increased in our area due to the number of human-made ponds. But unlike the honking geese, herons are generally quiet and solitary.
The name “heron” is derived from the Greek myth of a young man who witnessed the ghastly demise of his brother by human-eating horses. Zeus took pity on Erodius and transformed him into a bird. As herons are found on every continent except Antarctica, they have inspired numerous myths and legends. There’s a Native American tale about a race between a heron and a hummingbird that is similar to Aesop’s tortoise and the hare, in which the heron plays the role of the slow yet determined winner. Both African and Egyptian stories depict these birds as messengers from the gods.
Herons are known by many names in other tongues. In Scotland, they are corra-ghritheach, which means “knowing and wise bird.” In Spanish, “garza” refers to long legs, implying handsomeness and beauty, which relates to “Garza” as a common surname. German uses a word for the same meaning — “Reiher.”
I consider the heron both beautiful and awkward. They seem contemplative, meditating upon the still waters, yet those skinny legs with knobby knees are almost comical, aren’t they? The S-curve in their necks is explained by a Namibian folktale as the result of a bite from a jackal. Tough luck.
But in Chinese, the word for heron (lú) means “good fortune,” and this morning I was lucky to witness a great blue heron beat his powerful wings to rise into the air and then glide over the treetops. It was beautiful …
Until I looked down and saw that I had stepped in goose poop.
Andrew Taylor-Troutman is the author of the book with Wipf and Stock Publishers titled This Is the Day: A Year of Observing Unofficial Holidays about Ampersands, Bobbleheads, Buttons, Cousins, Hairball Awareness, Humbugs, Serendipity, Star Wars, Teenagers, Tenderness, Walking to School, Yo-Yos, and More. He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina where he is a student of joy.
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