Herons

There are several signs that spring is arriving soon. (Granted, we haven't had a true winter. Despite my pointed requests to the powers that be, there was no snow, and therefore no anticipated days off of school.) One of my favorite spring signs is the nesting herons in Gulhane Park near Topkapi Palace. Last week, I heard a rumor that they had returned. On this fine sunshiney day, I confirmed the rumor.





When I was a kid, my parents used to pile the five of us kids in the pale urine colored Oldsmobile stationwagon with the Triple A sticker on the back to drive somewhere in the middle of nowhere to watch the herons nest. My mom would excitedly point to a place off in the distance, at the top of the trees. "See, they're right there!" Although I never actually saw them, I might lie and say that I had. I was bored as a kid in the back of a urine colored station wagon could be.





In contrast, when up close and personal, the Gulhane Park herons fascinate me. Some of the trees house as many as seven individual nests of older couples with larger ones, and the new home owners building from scratch. One couple was having a bit of trouble setting up home. A large twig, part of the foundation, transported from way over there fell slowly to the ground from a dizzying height. The herons are most beautiful when the wheel and float with their impressive wingspan fully spread, a tuft of black feathers upright on heads extended from long graceful necks. My own short and inflexible neck hurts from craning it to follow their flight.

(These photos were taken last year on a gray and rainy day.)