Storks and Herons by JetlagCity
This heron is my favorite memory of Amsterdam. I encountered him (her?) as it was getting dark and we were walking to dinner. Apparently herons and storks are rather common in Holland, but I never knew it, so this one by Prinsengracht really took me by surprise! At first I thought he was wooden, but he looked so real that I slowed down to have a better look, and then he finally moved, scaring the heck outta me! A local lady walking by must have been amused by my reaction - she said three of them lived on that street, and exchanged a few words with us before moving on. These birds are huge, and the last place I expected to see them was in the downtown area of a big city like Amsterdam. Later I saw another one, standing up on the gable of a house, looking like a giant ornament.