This green heron has been eluding me for years.  Ok, I admit, it is highly probable that this is not the same heron that I have tried to photograph since 1998, but I am still pretty excited to finally get a photo. They are such a curious looking bird to me, and their elusive behavior makes photographing them so much more desirous.

I visit the Toledo Botanical Garden when I am in the area (Ohio) and have seen a solo or pair of herons on every visit.  For years, they lived on an island in the pond where I would watch them through binoculars as they moved amongst the low branches above the water.   Then, with renovations to the garden, the island became part of a greenway that allows visitors to stroll between the pond and neighboring stream.  The herons still have some privacy, as brambles and marshy ground keep the overly curious at bay but allow photographers, like me, to finally take that shot.