A Heron’s Lunch (Six Photographs)

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The herons I see do not seem to catch very large fish; I mentioned this to Michael Powell when I saw his post of a Heron fishing https://michaelqpowell.wordpress.com/2016/07/10/playing-it-safe/. All this bird caught was a small catfish. Herons have a huge reservoir of patience; if you decide to do a sequence like this it means waiting an interminable time for something to happen. When the bird gets down to business the catch happens in seconds. Once caught flipping the fish around and preparing it for consumption takes only a little longer. While waiting, the temptation is to get some good shots of the bird and the reflection in the water. This can distract you from the lightening strike to get the fish (I’ve missed more than once). Finally a small fish being swallowed is nowhere near as impressive as a heron swallowing a much larger fish. But you are rewarded by a clear grin of satisfaction at the end.