In the past I have seen Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) catch some incredibly large fish, but the tiny fish this heron caught on Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge may be the smallest prey that I have ever seen a heron catch.
Hopefully the fish was just an appetizer and not the main course.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Love this.
Appetizer for sure. 😂
Blue Rock Horses Frederick County, Virginia bluerockhorses.com
Snack time! That’s a nice photo.
Are there other insects with two sets of wings? My daughter and I were visiting a historic village in MA yesterday and what looked like a dragonfly landed on my hand. I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo, but it looked like a small (1.25”) dark dragonfly. We’ve had oversight lows in the low to mid 20s, so I didn’t think that would be likely.
I have seen Autumn Meadowhawks in mid-December, so that is a possibility, and a friend of mine has seen one in early January. The males tend to red in color, but the mature females can be darker. They are about 1.3 inches in size and in my experience Autumn Meadowhawks are the dragonfly most likely to perch on me. (Here is a posting where I took photos of an Autumn Meadowhawk perched on me.) https://michaelqpowell.com/2015/11/27/perched-on-me/
Thanks Mike! I wish I had been able to get a picture, but it flew off to quickly,
BTW, was the “historic village” Old Sturbridge Village? I remember visiting it a long time ago when I was growing up in Medford, one of the suburbs of Boston.
Yes. We are members and we love going there in autumn.
One last link. Here are some shots that a friend took of a female Autumn Meadowhawk perched on my hand. It will give you a good sense of the size and coloration of the dragonfly so you can compare it with your recollection of the one that perched on you. https://waltersanford.wordpress.com/2013/11/22/autumn-meadowhawk-dragonfly-female-2/
Thanks again, Mike. That looks very much like what landed on me.
Very nice Mike! It was probably just an appetizer!
Good one, Mike! Isn’t it amazing they can pick up such small prey with that huge beak. And you have to wonder how many of those little ones they have to eat.
Captured this Heron very nicely. Going about life makes for the best ‘nature’ photographs. 👏👏
I completely agree, Dan, about what makes the best nature photos. The challenge is that it requires eternal vigilance–I never know when an interesting opportunity will arise and I then have to react quickly before the window of opportunity closes.
Such a beautiful bird. Wonderful capture.
Something made me question if herons eat frogs? Captured that happening? Imagine those kicking legs!!
I have not captured a Great Blue Heron capturing a frog, but in 2012 I photographed a Green Heron catching and ingesting a frog. Check out this posting. https://michaelqpowell.com/2012/07/24/not-seeing-eye-to-eye/
Oh my! Those feet! Poor frog. Hope he tasted good. Lucky Heron! Good catch by you, too!!
Thanks, Molly. This was definitely a case of being in the right place at the right time. It is fascinating to look back at a posting from nine years ago, not long after I had started my blog, and see that my approach to my blog postings has remained pretty consistent–very personal and a little quirky as I talk about my photos.
Wonderful new screen saver, my friend!!
Thanks, Molly.