As I strolled to the end of the bird walk at Myakka River State Park last Friday night, I caught a glimpse of a great blue heron with a sizable catfish in its beak. I set up my camera and for ten minutes, I watched this bird play with its pending dinner. It picked up the fish, dunked it in the water, proudly displayed it in its bill, then dropped it back in the muddy water. This happened over and over again. One would think the fish was long dead after enduring so much. Well, not so fast!
Roll the video….!
You can also watch the video on YouTube.
Too bad it was so windy….making it difficult to hear my commentary. After regaining control of the situation, 20 minutes passed…. and that heron still hadn't eaten the fish! Not sure what it was waiting for…but, unfortunately, I lost all daylight. So, I don't actually know if the bird ever enjoyed its sushi dinner. I can only hope so (and hope that fish was put out of its misery).
9 comments:
A long drawn out time of agony for one of them, and at the end delight for the other. great reflections regardless of the wind.
That is quite the mouth full.
Great Blue Herons are not noted for their compassion toward fish. :) And you have proven that point very well!
It must be some kind of ritual for the bird to "play" with his catch. Glad you got the video regardless of the wind and thanks for posting it.
That's a happy heron.
Fantastic photo! One of my favorite birds!
What a great shot of this bird...in action!
That is a big one! Great capture. By you, I mean . . .
Goodness that's quite a sizeable fish SRQ, reminds me of the time I caught a seagull swallowing the biggest bone ever, sometimes wonder how or if it was able to digest it!
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