Great Blue Heron With a Snack

Here's a Great Blue Heron I saw at Duke's Brook last autumn. I had been seeing a heron there over a span of a couple of weeks, and I'm assuming this was a favored fishing spot for a particular heron, though I have to admit I could have been seeing 2 or more different herons.

In any event, this particular Great Blue Heron got what it came for, fish for a meal. Though the fish is sideways in the heron's beak, the heron will need to toss or otherwise reposition the fish so that it can be swallowed headfirst. I suspect that occasionally they'll botch the toss and the fish escapes, but herons do this sort of thing for a living and no doubt get pretty good at it.

October 7, 2022 at Duke Farms
Photo 249884838, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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