Little Blue Heron

Little Blue Heron

 Egretta caerulea

I posted this picture not just because the Little Blue Heron is a pretty bird in its own right but  because it's a nature 3-fer. The heron is scratching an itch while balanced on a limb but if you look carefully, you can see an alligator behind the heron sunning itself on the tree trunk. I wonder if the heron knew it was there or if the gator was hoping the heron would hop over where it could get an easy meal.  Another close look to the right of the picture on one of the branches is a red dragonfly. So there's your 3-fer, a bird, a reptile, and an insect all using the same tree carcass in the middle of Grebe Marsh at Estero Llano Grande State Park.