Chris and I were recently walking in a different part of the nearby park near the Ammer River here in Tübingen when we unexpectedly spotted our little heron friend.Well, at least it might have been the same heron we see periodically in Tübingen – I can’t prove that it was, but you can’t prove that it wasn’t, either. 😉

Anyway, usually we see the heron standing in the water further down in the river at the other end of the park. But on this occasion, he was standing on the bank of the river near a playground, peering intently at something bobbing around in the water.

If he was hoping for a fish dinner, though, he was destined for disappointment, as Chris and I were fairly certain it was just a strip of paper trash floating in the water. Which is too bad, since the heron was steadily and stealthily craning his neck closer and closer toward the spot in the water, never taking his eye off it, but never stepping any closer to the edge of the river, either. He was going to a lot of effort for not much reward, since he was too far away on the bank to get a true sense of the thing he was eyeing.

Of course, I didn’t blame him for not wanting to step into the water, since it was certainly a bit chilly that day even to be standing around by the edge of the river. For myself, I found a good spot from which to take a portrait or two of him before I got too cold and needed to move on. I hope it worked out OK for the heron to find food that day. But his food sensors seemed to be off if he thought that tantalizing piece of paper was going to be tasty; his unaccustomed perch by the river wasn’t helping him any.  Perhaps fish aren’t the only creatures who don’t know how to act when they wind up on a riverbank, out of the water.