Standing Room at the Supper Table

Description

Four great blue herons crowd one bleached-stick nest high in the cottonwoods, the ripening canola rolling out gold behind them in the last of the evening light. The young bird front and center holds the floor, crest ruffled and streaky chest out, while two dark-shouldered siblings keep their backs turned as if they’ve heard this speech before. Off in the leaves at right, a fourth watches sidelong from the next branch over, the way a neighbor listens across a fence. A full-house portrait of rookery life at canopy height.