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Mill Valley (our town) is near the Audubon Canyon Ranch, home to one of the great egret and Blue Heron rookeries. Each spring, the birds come in from all over to engage in a great courtship/mating festival. It's a great deal of fun to spend a Saturday watching the large and elegant birds dancing in the treetops as they work the birdie dating game.

Of course, the birds need to eat. Their acute eyesight makes the Koi pond a tempting target as they fly across the San Francisco Bay headed towards the rookery. The brightly colored fish look tasty from 500 feet. 

This week, several Great Blue Herons have dropped in to visit and stalk the Koi pond. The biggest of the birds are nearly five feet tall. Their beaks appear to be large enough to consume the largest of the Koi in a single swallow. Even soaking wet (it's the rainy season here in California), they are beautiful creatures who seem to be able to sit still for enormous periods of time.

Initially, they take their positions on the fence, the roof or the jacuzzi and sit, watching. As they get comfortable, they move closer to the Koi pond in delicate incremental moves. They understand that the fish may sense their presence and want to be as inconspicuous as any other part of the background. Colored to blend into the environment, the slow movements resemble T'ai Ch'i.

The Koi Pond is a six foot deep triangle that stretches eight feet on a side. The red bench that serves as its border sits two feet above the water. The air is filled with the sound of water rushing into the pond (Koi require constant filtering.) We think that the Herons view the place as a roadside diner.

They eventually end up on the bench, trying to figure out how to reach down the two feet to the surface of the water. As they scan the swirling Koi, you can see them trying to choose between big and meaty, colorful and small. The pool looks like a buffet and they are just trying to make up their minds through careful observation. For the Herons, it's like shooting ducks in a barrel.

Obviously, the Koi pond, the caregiver and the Herons have analogous places in the development of pro-active recruiting techniques. It takes all three components to create an environment that produces the right candidate at the right time. To satisfy the Herons, you need fish. To keep the fish, they must be fed and nurtured.

- John Sumser  

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