Don Balke (B. 1933) "Connecticut / Louisiana Heron" Signed lower right. Watercolor on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood commemorative cover for the Connecticut "Shorebirds of the 50 States", cancelled January 9, 1986. Dubbed the "Lady of the Waters" by John J. Audubon, the Louisiana Heron is the most abundant Heron found along the Atlantic seaboard. its brightly plumed, gray, white and black shadings make it a breathtaking sight when alone or in flocks of a thousand or more. The Herons approach a salt marsh or swamp at an altitude of one hundred or two hundred feet, flying with strong, graceful strokes. Suddenly folding their wings, they dive in unison. Later, crouching in the shallows, or wading into belly deep water, the Louisiana Heron deftly uses its long neck and bill to seize small fish, amphibians or crustaceans. Sometimes the Heron will run through the shallows, or extend one of its long legs forward, and vibrate it rapidly along the bottom to flush its food toward the surface. Gregarious, noisy and lacking the showy plumes of other Herons, the Louisiana Heron had no commercial potential for man, and has therefore flourished. Largely a communal bird, the Louisiana Heron nests in colonies along the shoreline at ground level or in overhanging trees, where it carefully guards its three or four pale green-blue eggs. Hatching within three weeks, the slate-colored young Herons soon take to the skies in the familiar leg-dangling flight characteristic of the Heron family. The Louisiana Heron is also known as the scroggin, the tricolored Heron, and the Lady-of-the-Waters. Image Size: 10.75 x 12.25 in. Overall Size: 19.25 x 21 in. Unframed. (B09854)