Great Blue Heron at the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge

Some birds are just plain majestic. We were at the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge a couple of weeks ago, and while we watched for beavers in the Salt Slough a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) landed a few yards away.

The herons are a familiar sight in wetlands all across North America, but I never fail to be impressed by their grace and beauty. Except when they are chasing my goldfish in the backyard pond (which thankfully has only happened once).

The San Luis National Wildlife Refuge is part of a nationwide network of wetlands and other habitats that protect hundreds of species of birds and other animals. Their very existence is a recognition that we are stewards of the planet, and all creatures that live on it. That philosophy is under attack in some quarters, and the armed takeover of the Malheur Refuge in Oregon was a horrible and repugnant example of the mindset of a small minority. I wrote about this a short time ago at Geotripper: http://geotripper.blogspot.com/2016/02/these-lands-belong-to-all-of-us.html.