Shoulder to Shoulder at Sundown

Description

Two young herons stand pressed close on the family nest, one turned away in slate-dark reserve, the other showing its streaky buff front in profile, their heads nearly touching in what could be confidence or complaint. The great pale limbs of the cottonwood curve around them like arms, warmed by low evening light, with a wash of field showing through the leaves at upper left. Whatever passed between these two at the top of the tree, it looks like it was worth staying home for. An intimate frame from a rookery that seldom lets anyone this near.