Rusty the Great Heron 30-foot scrap-metal heron (Oso Bay Wetlands)

A rusting steel heron with a fish in its beak stands at the entrance to Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve and Learning Center in Corpus Christi. Texas Highways (2026) says a metal heron named Rusty greets visitors to the preserve, and a December 2025 South Texas Community News public-art series page describes a Corten steel heron with a stainless-steel fish greeting visitors at the entrance. Artist Dixie Friend Gay lists the work, Great Heron, as made in 2015 from Cor-ten steel, at 20 by 20 by 8 feet. Her page says the blue heron stands on a 6-foot platform and that the sculpture, named “Rusty”, holds a wriggling fish in its beak and represents the preserve's mission to promote nature. Heights vary by source: the artist lists the work as 20 feet high on a 6-foot platform, and Texas Highways (June 2026) calls it 24 feet tall. The City of Corpus Christi, which owns and operates the preserve, describes it as a 162-acre nature preserve with two miles of nature viewing trails and a learning center.