THE Bird

That strange, large bird is still here, fishing the pond. I startled it when I walked out there as I was leaving this morning. It is larger than a large duck, handles itself in the air like a duck, but can land on a tree branch (Kingfisher like but much larger and without that crazed Daffy Duck behavior). It is either striped or (this morning I had the distinct impression) speckled. Light tans and cream colors and the stripes or specks are darker. It has a long beak and fishes from the end of the boat. It still looks more like a Bittern than it does anything else I've heard suggested. Tomorrow evening I'm going to borrow Cashmere's camera and sneak up on the bank right before sunset. I'll have to trick Kilo into staying inside - her primary yard agenda is to keep it bird-free, and she really doesn't like that particular bird. Probably because it is so large. I've searched for what it might be again today and have again been reminded why our large physical libraries are not obsolete. The internet is remarkable regarding some types of information, and I'm completely grateful, but I would love to have the UNM library and its selections of "photos of birds of the S.W. United States, New Mexico, West Texas, or Edwards Plateau areas" just a few clicks away. Instead I'm overwhelmed by links to nothing and about to admit that Camron could be correct. Maybe it is a Pteradactyl.