Each night when I walk down the dock to my boat I inevitably cross paths with a 4 foot tall white bird. I turn the corner and there he is, standing his ground on two long spindly legs. I always stop short, surprised that this particular bird doesn't just fly away squawking, like all the other birds. He just stands there, head cocked to the side, looking at me. He is literally sizing me up. I slowly walk towards him and he slowly walks away from me. All the way to my boat, where he stops and watches me climb aboard. We repeat this dance every evening.
I'm at the marina bar the other night and tell everyone about this crazy bird. "Herbie the Heron!" they tell me. He showed up at the dock 3 years ago all covered in oil. They didn't think he was going to make it, but he survived. And he's been living at our marina ever since.
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