Were you glued to the 2026 Winter Olympics?  I watched some highlights of the various skating events, but quite honestly, since Winter is NOT my favorite season and I detest snow and ice, I bided my time until it was safe to get out with the camera to at least try to enjoy my least-favorite season.  That day finally arrived on February 12^th, the first of three days when I visited some of my favorite local parks, then a wintry mix forced me back into hibernation and my countdown until Spring’s arrival began anew.

Along the edge.

Perhaps you are wondering about the featured image which is none other than Harry the Heron, Council Point Park’s resident Great Blue Heron.  Harry was meandering along the very edge of an icy ledge at the Ecorse Creek.  Through the years, most of my photos of this feathered fellow have him standing like a sentry on the shoreline, or peering into the water for fish.  Occasionally Harry is pictured wading in the Creek looking for lunch.

Well, here is the backstory about “Harry the Ice Walker”.

Harry was walking on the other side of the Creek in an effort to escape little ol’ me, who had arrived earlier, camera in hand and was clicking away as he stood by himself on the ice, pondering life and why he didn’t live in a warmer clime. 

If you squint you can see Harry on the ice, far away from me.  I was nowhere near him. The dark blob next to Harry was a snoozing duck.

I zoomed in to get a closer look at Harry.

Ruffled feathers (literally and figuratively) would be the least of his worries.

Well Harry caught sight of me, the pesky photographer, so he bolted, which is not unusual, but when Harry vamooses, it is accompanied by a screech that could wake the dead.  But not this time as Harry silently flew across the Creek. 

Unfortunately, he did not land gracefully, but instead made a misstep and slipped into the icy-cold water, scattering ducks as they moved away quickly, some paddling furiously, while others flew up. Lots of quacking ensued, thanks to Harry’s mishap. 

Harry does not look happy here, his breeding feathers drenched and dripping.

No doubt miffed at me bigtime, Harry hopped onto the icy ledge, dripping wet and looking scrawnier than his already-scrawny self, with his ornamental head breeding feathers (a/k/a occipital plumes) askew. 

Now sure-footed as he stood on the icy ledge, Harry quickly assessed the situation, then turned the other way to avoid the ducks, lots of ducks, all Mallards, milling about. 

Harry shook his feathers vigorously, fluffing them up …

… then took a long look around …

… then stood there motionless, the gears in his head clicking as he determined his next step.

He swiveled his head to stare me down and, if looks could kill, I’d worry my days were limited as you see in this shot.

The bedraggled-looking Harry decided to leave, to find another spot where he could be alone, but his wings weren’t quite dry. 

He gave his feathers another vigorous shake …

… but sadly, it was not like the sun would dry those feathers since the temps were hovering around the freezing mark at that time.

There was one last look at the Mallards (which Harry considered not only shorter, but lesser beings) …

… and he attempted a last-ditch effort to fly away, preparing to lift off.

Sigh – if only they made Yaktrax for herons ….

Flying was still not an option, so Harry’s solution was to simply walk on the ice, thus escaping the mayhem of the Mallards and hopefully thwarting further attempts by the shutter-happy photographer to capture his misery. 

He walked very slowly along the icy ledge, taking tiny steps, much like Yours Truly, when there is ice around the house.  One step in front of the other – the orthopedic docs even suggest you walk like a penguin, upright with small steps to keep your balance.

Here he is, setting out on his icy journey …

… soon he hit his stride, picking up speed.

Harry, the hapless heron, surprised me with his next move!

Although this gangly Great Blue Heron walked very precariously on the ice, all the while searching for a perfect perching spot, he finally decided it was easier to just wade in the icy Creek enroute to his destination. 

Nope, he did NOT make a misstep, nor did he simply slide off the edge – he just plopped down, perhaps weary, or perhaps to save face.

So there you have it in a nutshell – a walk taken by Harry the Heron as witnessed on the walk taken by Yours Truly.  Pictures that really tell the tale better than I do.

As a side note, this is not the first time I’ve written about Harry’s escapades on ice.  In fact, once, back in the Winter of 2019, I saw him strolling across the Creek, but that time the Ecorse Creek was frozen solid, with a shiny surface of glare ice as you can see in this photo.

That ice sparkled and shimmered like diamonds in the early morning light and thankfully I had my camera handy and captured Harry’s wee stroll.  I was actually nervous whether he’d make it across the Creek or not and whew … he did so without incident!  I felt like I should be cheering him on.  The post was entitled “Slip-Slidin’ Away” and also wrapped up my year-end walking goal. That post and Harry’s fancy footwork may be found by just clicking here.

I am joining Terri’s Monthly Color Challenge:  Diamonds and Quartz and Pepper’s One Step at a Time.