I have a creek running in the back of the property and I get couple of visitors every year ( herons ? cranes ? egrets ? )
My morning run took me along a trail in the local River Bend Park. The trail follows a sort of dike between the river and the gravel pit lake, both are near, but nether is very visible from the trail. Shortly after leaving the forested zone on the dike into the low land tall grassy meadow, I heard what I now call “a large flapping” noise just behind me. I looked around and there was a great blue heron in the air in an escape mode less then 10 feet away.