Source: https://www.audubon-prints.com/product/yellow-crowned-night-heron/
In January I birded with my son in Florida, and two times we saw Yellow-crowned Night-Herons. We were excited to see them, so I was surprised that when I started looking for more information on these handsome birds, many of the sites were describing what pests they are. Apparently they take over yards, pooping and vomiting on people and property alike. It's a crime to disturb a nest that's in use.
All of this got me thinking about the complications life brings us.
When I look up
Yellow-crowned Night-Herons
the references are split between
how to see them, in all their yellow and black glory,
with their feathery streamers flying behind their heads
and how to get rid of them, as they vomit and poop
on people and property,
spewing acid strong enough to dissolve
the shells of small turtles that they snack on.
The ones my son and I saw in the park in Florida
were not bothering anyone,
as far as we could figure.
Good thing, too,
since the law protects their interests
over those of homeowners.
As I walked out to a gazebo on the lake
in the middle of that park
on a cool January morning,
I found a man,
no homeowner,
asleep on the bench
and I tiptoed away to avoid waking him.
The nights in Florida,
even in January,
are warm enough
that the people sleeping in the park
aren’t going to freeze,
but nobody plans to end up unsheltered,
out of options,
just as nobody wants to be assaulted
by the bodily wastes of a lovely, delicate bird.
I find myself wishing
we all,
humans and birds,
had somewhere to be,
somewhere we’re welcome
and in nobody’s way,
somewhere we’re appreciated
for how beautiful,
precious,
and irreplaceable
we are.
©Ruth Bowen Hersey
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