“Old, Bold Fred ~ Great Blue Heron,” an original painting and a work in progress, copyright Susan A. Walton, S. A. Walton Studio, Hudson, Florida.

This is a painting inspired by a day when I was out looking for the manatees that congregate in the warm outflow of a Gulf coast power plant during Florida’s brief winter. These power plant outflows are lifesavers during extreme cold spells for manatees seeking warmth.

When Gulf waters cool uncomfortably, manatees move up into rivers to find natural springs as well, because the outflow of spring water is the same temperature all year.

Manatees also need springs and rivers for drinking water, as they do not drink saltwater. This is why these large marine mammals aren’t seen far out at sea; they must hug the coast to stay close to fresh water sources.

As it happens that day, it was not at all warm above the water, and the wind was making the water quite choppy- not the best of conditions for observing manatees, though there were quite a few present. Naturally, my eyes wandered to where there was a Great Blue Heron strolling the shoreline. The wind was buffeting him around and ruffling his feathers, and the pattern of the short wind-driven waves behind the bird made for an interesting composition.

When the polarized lens on my camera wasn’t adequate for snapping shots of manatees in choppy water, I just gave it up and started taking shots of all the wading birds instead.