How a Great Blue Heron eats a fish (Page 6): Very well done i.e. sharp etc. We used to go down to Dolphin Island south of Mobile for a couple months of winter weather way nicer than...

donziska

Very well done i.e. sharp etc. We used to go down to Dolphin Island south of Mobile for a couple months of winter weather way nicer than Nebraska. We did some shore fishing and those Heron would practically stand along side waiting for a fish which they would reverse and gobble down. The reverse action of course to reverse the direction of the fins. Don

Jim Bob

sleepydrdr wrote:

We went to our local state park today, and saw this heron finally get a fish after 4 unsuccessful tries. As you can see, he first spears it, then pushes it off his beak with his tongue. He then flips it in the air, catches it and finally swallows it.

Please see download for detail. Thanks for viewing!

I included a severe crop as a last photo to kind of show it from the fish's perspective.

Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-500, hand held

Cool.

sleepydrdr Loc: Chattanooga, TN

donziska wrote:

Very well done i.e. sharp etc. We used to go down to Dolphin Island south of Mobile for a couple months of winter weather way nicer than Nebraska. We did some shore fishing and those Heron would practically stand along side waiting for a fish which they would reverse and gobble down. The reverse action of course to reverse the direction of the fins. Don

Thanks, donziska! I'm sure it wouldn't be comfortable going down tail first and dorsal fin up.

sleepydrdr Loc: Chattanooga, TN

Jim Bob wrote:

Cool.

Thanks for your comment, Jim Bob!

katspangle Loc: Santa Fe NM

that is a great sequence of photos. Makes me want to go fishing....

Richard Spencer Loc: Evansville, Indiana

Beautifully captured. Best series of a GBH I have seen.

bnewmk Loc: Albuquerque,NM

Great captures.

greg14

I am also extremely impressed with the fact that you did hand held.
I have been thinking of getting this lens the next time Nikon has a sale on it.
Not trying to be too nosy, may I ask how old you are, I am 73 and feel that the hand held may be too much of a burden.

BTW, I have a shot of a Heron with a rather large catfish in his mouth, I mention it because he should holding it horizontal to his beak for 15 minutes and finally flew off as I spooked him trying to get closer.
Not being the best wild life guy I make too much noise, LOL
I have never posted a picture on here and am not the best with the computer, I do not see an icon to attach a photo.

sleepydrdr Loc: Chattanooga, TN

katspangle wrote:

that is a great sequence of photos. Makes me want to go fishing....

Thanks, katspangle! Happy fishing!

sleepydrdr Loc: Chattanooga, TN

Richard Spencer wrote:

Beautifully captured. Best series of a GBH I have seen.

Thanks, Richard Spencer! I appreciate your kind comments.

sleepydrdr Loc: Chattanooga, TN

greg14 wrote:

I am also extremely impressed with the fact that y... (show quote)

Thanks, greg14! BTW I'm 67. My 810 and lens weigh a bit over 7 lbs. I use a Barska pistol grip (Amazon, about $17) and that makes hand held a lot easier. I couldn't do it and be at all steady without it. I've posted a pic of it below, it just screws into the lens collar where the tripod would go. Also, in your post look below the white area where you type and you will see "choose file", then browse for your photo, then click on "Add Attachment". You can click the store original box if you want people to be able to see the image in download. After you have done that you still have to click "Send" that is directly below the text box and that will post your text and photos. You have 30 minutes to edit your text or delete any photos before it's set in stone.

J-SPEIGHT Loc: Akron, Ohio

sleepydrdr wrote:

We went to our local state park today, and saw this heron finally get a fish after 4 unsuccessful tries. As you can see, he first spears it, then pushes it off his beak with his tongue. He then flips it in the air, catches it and finally swallows it.

Please see download for detail. Thanks for viewing!

I included a severe crop as a last photo to kind of show it from the fish's perspective.

Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-500, hand held

Nice set.

sleepydrdr Loc: Chattanooga, TN

J-SPEIGHT wrote:

Nice set.

Thanks, J-SPEIGHT!

PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

Great series, thanks for posting.

Don

sleepydrdr Loc: Chattanooga, TN

PAR4DCR wrote:

Great series, thanks for posting.

Don

Thanks, Don! I'm glad you like it.