From the Warden's Watch in the past week, I've gotten some nice close views of egrets and great blue herons flying.

  The great blues are awesome, flapping their immense wings slowly. The egrets seem more athletic, with faster wing flaps.

   I almost think of egrets as single-skull rowers, with their precise wing flaps resembling oar strokes in a sea of sky.

   It's hard to say which giant bird is more beautiful. My choice is the one I happen to be watching at the time.

   I hope that didn't sound like a politician!