Night Birds on the Jetty
It was early evening and I walked down past the Fish and Chip Shop with its lovely Vietnamese family and over the road and through the family recreation area. Nearby was the long stone jetty and I walked out on it drinking the cool sea air and looking up at the stars. Orion the hunter was slipping towards the horizon to my left as the Southern Cross climbed towards the Zenith on my right. The tide was out and I noticed a grey bird stalking over the mud flats. It kept pace with me for a while as I walked. Two thirds of the way out I reached the waterline and left the bird behind.
The jetty ends in a T and there are benches to sit on, which were my destination. As I reached the T I saw another grey bird in the darkness and a second flew to meet it from the direction of the shore. They greeted each other with guttural utterances. I moved slowly and carefully to try to avoid startling them and they stayed nearby for a few minutes as I approached the bench I wanted to sit on. I now know the birds are White-faced Herons. They stalked off together and vocalised to each other and seemed to be affectionate. I wondered if they were a breeding pair. The Herons remained on the T of the jetty.
I sat and relaxed on my bench in the semi-darkness, looking around me at the sea and the sky, experiencing the vast slow movement of ocean and the slower and vaster movement of sky, feeling the very light breeze and relaxing. When I got up I walked slowly and gently, hoping to pass the birds without frightening them away but they moved onto the main arm of the jetty and flew as I came within ten metres of them. As I looked down the length of the construction the light from the lamps spaced along it revealed a heron here and there. I wondered what attracted them until I saw one of them loft up gracefully, snapping at an insect in the light.
Coming to each bird I would ever walk more slowly and approach it cautiously. I tried mimicking the guttural cry once and though it was a poor attempt the bird looked at me and stayed a little longer than the others before flying off. Near the shore end I was able to stand next to one of the birds a pace away. It turned and casually walked past me in the direction I had come from. Just after that I came to a family with two dogs and keeping the same attitude of spirit I let the dogs explore me until they trusted me to pat them. The two women and their children were friendly too so we exchanged greetings and moved on. It had been a beautiful walk on the jetty.