In baseball, its 3 strikes and you're out! ( The St. Louis Cardinals certainly learned that last night...sigh)
However, when you are a Great Blue Heron those same strikes fill your belly! I went to the wetlands today and this heron was really getting lucky.
strike1....
strike 2....
strike 3.....
strike 4.......I saw him take in 5-6 fish in less than 15 minutes! He was doing very well and not the least concerned that I was watching him, so I got some nice close shots of his final catch when he was only about 20 yards from me!
I don't know what kind of fish these are, but they were apparently plentiful in the shallow water today.
If you look close at this one, you can see the fish in his mouth before he swallows it.
He carried this one towards shore, but finally ate it. I guess he just keeps clamping down with that monster beak until he squeezes the life out of them...yuck.
Carrying it by the tail, but he didn't lose any of them.
A better grip on this one.
Down the hatch!
I even got a couple of flying shots!
He looked very satisfied after that 5th (6th?) fish!
A ruffled landing.
Free as a bird...those lovely long wings.
Waiting.
This was actually the first shot I took when I passed by him the first time. He flew to the far side when I had to walk past on the boardwalk....you can see how close it is! However, when I came back he was on the other side of the boardwalk and ignoring me. The fishing shots came on the return trip. I saw more today and will post again in a couple of days.
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9 comments:
Great series!! Boom & Gary of The Vermilon River, Canada.
This is a beautiful bird to photograph! All of your shots are great! I can't imagine how they are able to digest so many whole fish!!
Wow! What neat pictures. Your header is just awesome. You were certainly at the right place at the right time.
That was a worthwhile trip. These pictures are amazing.
Great captures Mary, both you taking the shot and the Heron catching the fish.
Amazing photos! That's so cool, Mary, that he let you shoot him while he just went about his business feeding himself. The one of him flying is so wonderful too!
Wow!! Incredible series!!
Super action shots Mary. I have yet to see any Herons up our way.
I clicked to enlarge and still could not tell what kind of fish...I must say you got some fabulous photos! You couldn't have paid him to post any better.
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