I watched a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) snag a small fish on Wednesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Herons like to swallow their catches head-first, so the heron tossed the fish in the air several times to reposition it.
In the final photo, the heron had finally flicked the fish into the proper position and was preparing to swallow it. I am pretty sure that he was successful in doing so, although the photo suggests that his aim was somewhat less than perfect. I have tossed popcorn, M&M’s, and other tasty treats into the air and tried to catch them in my mouth and can testify to the fact that it is not as easy as it looks.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Great capture Mike. You are right it is not as easy as it looks.
Thanks, Suzette. It sounds like you too have tried to catch food out of mid-air. 🙂
Hahaha! Yes, I have tried.🤣
We call that ‘fish flippin’ 😂😂. Great catch.
I like the sound of “fish flippin’, Ted. I may have to adopt that term. 🙂
Typically we use it when the Anhinga are fishing. Always eat head first to protect against the sharp gills.
Great action shots, Mike!
Thanks, Chris. It’s is fun to try to get actions shots–rarely does the timing and the angle work out this well.
Fantastic timing on these shots, Mike! It’s nice to see a great blue heron eating something small once in a while!
Thanks. I am sure that the heron would have liked to catch bigger fish, but I am sure that it was happy to find anything to eat at this time of the year.
Great action shots, Mike. My experience is similar to yours.
Beautiful pic
Thanks.
A fun set, Mike. I love the way those long black feathers are whipping around, as well as the action of the catch. It continues to amaze me the size variation of what the GBH will eat.
I am glad to see that I was not the only one paying attention to the swishing of the long head feathers as the heron manipulated the tiny fish.
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