An injured and sick heron showed up on Spring Lake in early February. Adults thought for a split second that they might attempt to capture the bird themselves, but then visions of Lucy & Ethel-style antics, along with the thought of a sick bird trying to peck out their eyes set things straight. So a responsible adult named Danae called a reputable bird rehabber, and we let an expert handle the situation.

The rehabber caught the bird…

…assessed the situation…

…and determined the bird needed immediate medical attention.

Herry spent several weeks in rehab, and when the experts thought they had done all they could to help him, we scheduled a release back at Spring Lake.

The girls enjoyed getting to meet and talk to the bird rehabber.

And we all had fun watching spread his wings…

…and eat some fish. (Side note: We prepped for Herry’s return by visiting an Asian market for individually frozen fish for him to eat.  The vet and the rehabber were concerned about his ability to fish for himself, so they thought it would best for us to feed him for a day or two.)

Maybe Herry should’ve been named Groucho.

The SLAC-ker on the right used her creative talents to make heron pins to wear to Herry’s release.
Then, a couple of weeks later, we had a deep cold snap that was too much for Herry. He wasn’t strong enough for the freezing rain. We found him in the lake, just barely hanging on. We moved him to a crate in the garage with a heater, but it wasn’t enough to save him.

Herry’s body stayed in a deep freezer until we could get all the girls back together. By then, things were warm enough for shorts.

The girls said their goodbyes and held a makeshift wake.

They examined Herry…

…and got an up-close view of the injured/deformed foot the vet was unable to fix.

The girls wrapped him in a shroud (a sheet donated to the cause by Danae) and solemnly carried him to the science graveyard while an adult hummed Amazing Grace. It was a moving experience.