Marty’s photo of the day #5177: I watched this great blue heron for parts of three days. She was the only great blue heron hanging out on the gravel beach in front of Deb’s and my Johnstone Strait campsite. The heron was particularly interesting to watch when the tide came in. She ruled a spit of rocky beach that jutted into the ocean. As the water rose, she would flap her wings, rearranging the many ducks and gulls to make sure she stood on the last piece of land before the tide submerged it. Then she’d fly off into the forest.

(Photographed earlier this month on Vancouver Island.)