A little while back, I posted about some local herons.  One of my friends (who shall remain unnamed) made a comment expressing disappointment that it wasn’t the de Havilland version of a heron.  Imagine my surprise when, only a few weeks later, Mark and I were driving through Oregon en route to Klamath Falls when we passed through a small town called Chiloquin and, right by the highway, was a de Havilland Heron.  This was a Royal Navy example that had found its way to the grounds outside a motel.

It wasn’t in the best of shape.  One wing was completely gone and it was sitting on the ground rather than its gear.  However, the paint finish was still pretty reasonable.  No engines, of course.  They will have been salvaged at some point when it became clear the airframe was not going to be a flier again.  The grass had grown up quite a bit around it.  Late June probably means it grows well and someone hadn’t cut it for a while.  I wandered around to try and get different angles on it.  The light was rather shady and I was using my phone rather than the main cameras but it was fine.  There was even a large rock that could be used to gain some elevation.  This trip was proving to be a lucky one for getting unplanned things and this added to that in a way we hadn’t anticipated.