Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Fishing...Great Blue Heron Style II

Normally, when I watch herons fishing they're standing in the water waiting or slowly wading and catching fish in the immediate vicinity. This heron did something a bit different that caught me by surprise. He was standing quietly on a stump in the lake when suddenly he flew off. I assumed he was moving to a different location, so I began clicking the shutter. 

As you'll see in the photos, I was standing next to a dead tree as he flew by. The tree was in the way of my shots and I had to move to the left of it to continue shooting. As I cleared the tree, I saw the heron in the lake with a sizable fish in his bill. Evidently, the heron had spotted this fish from his perch some 30 yards away and made his attack from the air. Because I was blocked by the tree, I missed the actual catch, but continued shooting as he finished his meal.












































27 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

really cool! an air strike! love the 'walking on water' shots. crystal clear as always!

Nature Rambles said...

loved going through your series of shots, Amazing images!

Modesto Viegas said...

Great shots!!!!!
Well done!

Deb said...

your photos are amazing...

theconstantwalker said...

Great captures to see..

holdingmoments said...

Fantastic series.

Unknown said...

Wow, excellent sequence of shots!

Dave said...

great series... a moment in the life of a fish!

Arija said...

I have never seen a heron swimming before, or taking off from being partly submerged. He certainly caught a substantial meal there and don't you just love the expert flick to get the fish the right way arund for swallowing?
A great series indeed!

Anonymous said...

What a wonderfully photographed series!

CameraCruise said...

Wow, great series of wonderful photos!
Thanks for sharing.

Carole M. said...

..you did get some spectacular shots!! Birds eyesight is amazing isn't it; how they seek and find something from such a distance like this. Looks to be a very successful days catch on your camera Brian

eileeninmd said...

Awesome series on the GB heron! It is fun watching the fish and eat. Wonderful photos. Happy New year!

Mary Howell Cromer said...

What superb Heron images, they are all absolutely stunning!

mick said...

Great series of photos. Even catching it with the fish in its mouth was good!

John @ Beans and I on the Loose said...

I have to give that the best series of shots I have ever viewed on a blog. Well done!

joo said...

What can I say - simply splendid:)

NatureFootstep said...

Nice. I never seen it presented like this before. You shots really shows how beautiful coloring that bird has.
Great job and thanks for sharing. :)

Nancy said...

Such a big and beautiful fellow! I imagine it takes alot of fish to keep his belly full. :)

Springman said...

Yet more awesome GBH captures? A fantstic series Brian. I can never get enough of the natural drama of these birds plying their trade. Happy New Year!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Oh that is a stunning series of photos! It's kind of a miracle of timing to see the great blue fly; seems like they stand perfectly still for such a long time... I often wonder if they ever starve to death just standing there ;>)

Your pictures are just beautiful.

Joe said...

GREAT series. I've never seen one do that either.

tiptoethruphylsgarden.blogspot.com said...

OMG,what great pictures! It always amazes me at their feet & legs,how they look like they are on tip toe sometimes,then pushing off,great series!phyllis

Larry said...

Awesome series of the Great Blue fishing Brian! They do have amazing eye sight. I read recently that the Snowy Egret has the best eyesight of all the herons. Plus once they spot the fish, they have to be quick enough to catch it! Gorgeous photos!

Rambling Woods said...

It's funny that you saw this as I watched a heron fishing from a neighbor's dock with success. I only wish that I had gotten such fabulous photos as these....

Hilke Breder said...

Marvelous series, Brian. Love the way the heron turn the fish to get it down head first. Just wonderful!

Kerri Farley said...

Absolutely amazing captures!