Let me start off by saying that birds are amazing creatures and don't get enough credit for how intelligent some kinds of them are. Sadly I am not great at recognizing types of birds, so I won't be able to tell you what type of bird this is. (Maybe someone can identify it and post the name in the comments?)
I know a great garden to take portrait, flower, or (my personal favorite) squirrel pictures, but I never expected to have an encounter with this bird. To be honest, when I first saw it my heart skipped a few beats. I had never been that close to that large of a bird before. But it didn't take long until the fear turned into awe and I knew I had to try to capture it (in a photo, of course). Not only was I able to get a few feet away from it to snap a picture or two, but it didn't even seem to mind I was there. It's always a good feeling when an animal trusts you enough to let you get close enough to photograph them.
In the first picture, the sun just happened to shine a certain way on the lens making strange circles and rays of light with some rainbow colors thrown in. I thought about not posting it because it was a flaw, but at the same time I think it gives the photo a nice touch. I was also able to include the tiny waterfall.
Although I wasn't able to get much of the waterfall in the second picture, the reflections in the small pond made up for it. The bird seems to blend in, which is both good and bad depending on how you look at it. Personally, it makes it look like the bird was posing for a portrait picture. However, it makes the bird a bit harder to spot at a first glance.