One of my loviest close encounters occurred while blissfully bathed in the serenity and natural elegance of the Bang Lang Bird Sanctuary of Thot Not, Vietnam.

The grounds cover over  2.5 acres  of lush trees and grasses,  Although it is known as a “stork garden”  the majority of the birds belong to the heron family and there are over 150,000 birds making their homes in this beautiful haven.

For the first section  of our visit we followed a winding, broken path that winds thru the center of the sanctuary, past streams and brush.  By watching carefully I was able to catch white flashes of the bright plumage some herons  foraging on the ground.

The next portion was literally heaven, but of course to get there I had to walk up a very rickety wrought iron winding staircase to get to a platform that was above the tree canopy.  As with any precarious climb, my camera was safely tucked away, but this internet photo of a similar staircase gives you an idea of the spiral  path to the sky:

Only a few of us opted to take the stairway to paradise.  Up on top, there was no cover and the sun was a blasting furnace.  It was worth every drop of sweat.  Here is what was directly in front of me:

Situated in a nest in the middle of the tree foliage was a mother “little white” egret and two very hungry babies.  Enjoy as I did the typical exasperation of a mom whose kids won’t leave her alone:

 

 

Momma’s  face in the last pic is priceless.

 

 

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