The day we visited the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center, I was excited to see many Great Blue Herons. Some, such as the one in my feature photo stood magestically nearby in the shallow waters alongside the boardwalk.

Others could be spotted perched in tree branches.

Although I had heard and read about them , I had never met a Great Blue Heron “in person” before.

I was intrigued by how they can tuck that long neck in to their bodies to a point where it looks as though they have no neck at all. Apparently they do this when they’re resting or flying. If there is such a thing, these big graceful birds are neck contortionists extraordinaire.