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.
Linking to World Bird Wednesday
27 comments:
really cool! an air strike! love the 'walking on water' shots. crystal clear as always!
loved going through your series of shots, Amazing images!
Great shots!!!!!
Well done!
your photos are amazing...
Great captures to see..
Fantastic series.
Wow, excellent sequence of shots!
great series... a moment in the life of a fish!
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!
What a wonderfully photographed series!
Wow, great series of wonderful photos!
Thanks for sharing.
..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
Awesome series on the GB heron! It is fun watching the fish and eat. Wonderful photos. Happy New year!
What superb Heron images, they are all absolutely stunning!
Great series of photos. Even catching it with the fish in its mouth was good!
I have to give that the best series of shots I have ever viewed on a blog. Well done!
What can I say - simply splendid:)
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. :)
Such a big and beautiful fellow! I imagine it takes alot of fish to keep his belly full. :)
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!
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.
GREAT series. I've never seen one do that either.
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
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!
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....
Marvelous series, Brian. Love the way the heron turn the fish to get it down head first. Just wonderful!
Absolutely amazing captures!
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