September 27, 2008:

I went to the Concho River with my Sierra Club friends, and we saw two great blue herons. Maybe they are a mom and dad, but we didn’t see their baby. Herons have skinny legs and pointy beaks to peck at stuff to eat.  Professor Tarter told us they have only three toes on their feet and one of the toes goes backwards so then their feet can grip stuff and they don’t fall down.

Herons are bigger birds than the kinds I see in trees. They like water. So why don’t they go on top of the water like ducks?  I think maybe because they don’t have paddles on their feet, but ducks do. Maybe herons are too heavy for floating. It’s good that herons stay still a lot so we can look at them. And they have curvy necks.

--Lincoln, age 5

 A photograph of a great blue heron: