Biggest bird I've ever seen in my backyard...Ever!

The other day, my husband was outside in the yard, doing some weedwacking. My cellphone rings, and he's on the line. "Honey, look at the driveway, but don't make any noise." Okay, I said, a bit worried. I peer out the window, and I see this gigantic bird. "Whoa, what is that?" I said? Okay, I know I live on an island, but I live on Staten Island, not some tropical paradise, so to see a bird like this, it's totally rare. My husband said it looks like a heron. I've only seen herons in Florida. When he came back into the house, he did a Google search, and we saw pictures of blue herons. This bird looks like a baby blue heron! On further research, apparently there is a Blue Heron Park right in Staten Island about 5 miles from our house. It's a wildlife sanctuary with lots of ponds, and home to some blue herons. How cool is that? http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/blueheronpark