Black-crowned Night Heron is Hunting

Black-crowned Night herons are masters of patience. 

Their primary technique is simple: stand and wait. This heron remained motionless for a long time before deciding to slowly shift to a new spot. 

Moving into the shallow water, it adopted a different approach—slow, deliberate wading, lifting each foot carefully to minimize ripples and avoid alerting the fish below.

Generally, life is good.

His Majesty's Morning Catch

 

His Majesty of the Swamp—the same Great Blue Heron I meet every time I visit Pelican Beach—was a little closer to the shore this morning, busy fishing. 

The fish he managed to catch was quite large, and I watched with curiosity, wondering if he would actually be able to swallow it.  Young, inexperienced herons are often overly cautious with large catches, sometimes leaving them completely untouched. But His Majesty was an expert. 

He carried the fish to a safer spot—unfortunately a bit too far from the shore for a perfect view—and swallowed it with absolute ease. 

Watching him catch his breakfast was a wonderful way to start my morning.

Power of Wings

 

A Great Blue Heron moves through the open sky with quiet confidence. What seems slow and awkward on land becomes steady and assured in flight

Generally, life is good.

Great Blue Heron Takes Off

Great Blue Herons are very cautious birds and they usually tend to fly away from people. It is their survival instinct.  

That morning the Heron changed its direction for unknown reasons.  He flew towards me and it's hard for me to say why the Heron did this.

In this photo I cut off one of the wing tip of the Great Blue Heron but I think it's still acceptable.

It all started simply and nothing foreshadowed that the Heron would soon leave this place.  I regret that I should have anticipated this by giving the bird more space in the frame when it took off.  But I got what I got...

Generally, life is good.

Fishing Together

 

Adult Black-crowned Night Herons are solitary birds that prefer to hunt alone but young  Night Herons are a different story.  They usually hang out around Snowy egrets.

Snowy Egrets tend to hunt aggressively, chasing prey and causing more movement in the water. This creates more opportunities for night herons to grab food without expending as much energy.

Young Black-crowned Night Herons may not be as skilled at hunting yet, so watching egrets can help them develop better foraging techniques.

Hanging around with Egrets offers protection from predators. More eyes mean a better chance of spotting danger.

Generally, life is good.

Great Blue Heron Explores New Territory

 

Birds on the Bear River have their favorite places where they can spend time together especially in the early morning hours.  This old log is the territory for American coots which usually congregate on it. 

One early morning I saw a Great Blue heron who decided to explore this log. True, he did not stay there long and never appeared in this place again. Other territories are attractive only from a distance.

Generally, life is good.

Black-crowned Night Heron is on the Hunt

 

In harsh, dry conditions, the male Black-crowned Night Heron has found his hunting grounds in search of rodents or lizards.

Generally, life is good.

Immature Black-crowned Night Heron During Sunrise

I don't remember how it all started, but I remember very well the day I discovered a spacious backwater on the Bear River, which is the flight path of many birds.

When I am on the Bear River MBR, I drive to this backwater, and like a Great Blue Heron patiently wait  for the fish to come to me  when in the sky a bird may appear, any bird. 

Sometimes I see a squadron of pelicans heading my way or seagulls soaring overhead, but on some days a lone immature Black-night heron flies past. 

Generally, life is good.

Not the Best Place for Fishing

 

The small island. The Great Blue Heron hopes to fish there but this island appeared to be not the best place for fishing.

But I can clean my feathers here.  It's also important.

Generally, life is good.

A Few Precious Minutes

I saw it only once, when the Bear River turned golden for a few precious minutes during sunrise.  

Later, I wanted to experience this miracle again, but, unfortunately, on each subsequent visit to the bird refuge, everything was ordinary and unimpressive.

Generally, life is good.

A Huge Catch That Was Never Eaten

It would seem the catch was a success, but the fish turned out to be huge. I was sure that the heron would swallow it, but I was wrong.  The Great Blue Heron did not swallow the fish.

My guess is that the size of the fish was too large and the Heron was struggling to fit it into its throat.  Herons usually swallow fish whole.

Another reason is that the Great Blue Heron was young and inexperienced and had not developed the skills to swallow large fish.  Herons are cautious birds and avoid swallowing prey that is too large or risky.

Generally, life is good.

An Unusual Place to Fish

A few days ago on one frosty morning I hoped to see at least one Great Blue Heron and, to my joy, I found one. 

The Heron stood on frozen dry plants, a rather unusual spot for fishing, shifting from foot to foot and trying to warm up and wasn't particularly happy about it.

 

At some point, the Heron suddenly spread his wings wide and turned around.  Was it a fish or something else?  It's hard to say.

Eventually, the Great Blue decided to move on to a better fishing spot.  

Decisions, decisions... Should I stay here or not?

The Heron is inspecting a new fishing spot and will stay here for some time but he fails to catch the fish.

Great Blue Herons have adapted to our harsh, cold winters but they have difficulty finding food. 

Generally, life is good.

Hunting in The Swamp

I could have easily missed this Juvenile Black-crowned Heron, but fortunately this did not happen. He blended in perfectly with his surroundings and chose a great hunting spot.

It's always interesting to watch how herons plan their hunt, waiting for their prey very patiently and occasionally taking a slow step forward.

When prey is spotted, the Heron leans forward, bending its neck slightly and carefully planning a single explosive strike.  And in a fraction of a second the bird grabs the fish in its bill.

If the fish is large Heron throws it into the air and then swallows fish. Smaller prey like minnows go down with no trouble.

Another small fish was caught.  

The Heron's sharp, pointed beak is not used for piercing prey.  During a quick strike the bird opens its beak and holds the prey with it.  

What surprises me most is that Herons calculate every single movement during the hunt and it must be precise.  

Generally, life is good.

 

Black-crowned Night Heron's call.

Immature Black-crowned Night Heron Explores New Habitat

 

In late August, I discovered an immature Black-crowned Night Heron perching on unusual place for these species. Typically, when Night Herons hunt they usually stay close to the water so they can strike at prey, if they are not hunting, they hide somewhere in vegetation. But this Heron was too far from water to catch its prey.  

My guess is that this young Heron was exploring a new and unusual perch and probably enjoyed being there.

 

Sometimes the Heron looked down to check what was happening in the water.

There were a few special moments when the Heron opened its wings and they became transparent because the sun was behind the bird.

Generally, life is good!

Immature Black-crowned Night Heron in Flight

 

Last Thursday, in the backwaters of the Bear River, I saw a group of Snowy Egrets and decided to try to get there. 

The closer I got to the Egrets, the tall reeds became thicker and thicker, and very soon I realized that all my attempts to reach Egrets are futile. 

Suddenly out of nowhere an immature Black-crowned Night Heron appeared in the sky. He was so beautiful in flight. 

Generally, life is good.

Funny Immature Black-crowned Night Heron

 

At first, this heron behaved rather boringly but after a while, it probably got tired of looking into one space and waiting for prey, and decided to walk along the bent branches.  He was probably trying to find a better place to watch what was happening below.

The Heron reached the point where it ended up under one of bent branches and found himself in a very awkward position.

Of course, the Heron did not like the whole situation in which he found himself and announced it to the whole world. The branch was obviously disturbing the bird.

It was a time to do something about this absurdity and perhaps, to cut an annoying branch in half but it didn't work despite all efforts.

In the end, the Heron stopped fighting the hated branch and moved a little to the side.  At this precise moment I tried hard not to laugh because the bird was in even more uncomfortable position. 

Sometimes immature birds act so funny.  Growing up is never easy.

Generally, life is good!

Masters of Motionless

 

It was my lucky morning when at dawn I came across  five Black-night Herons fishing in a very unusual open area.  I was so excited to see these incredible birds that for the first few minutes it was hard for me to believe what was happening.

After spending almost two hours with Herons, I learned something interesting about their behavior.  The Herons stand in a crouched posture for a long time and stare at the water until they see and hear something.  

This Heron after standing for a long time decided to take a walk keeping its head low. 

Finally, after standing like a frozen statue the Heron changed its position and became alert.  He certainly heard something that attracted his attention. 

The Black-night Herons are masters of motionless.  The stand and stand waiting for a prey mainly at night or early morning.

It was early morning when I photographed Herons.  Light during the dawn was amazing but unfortunately short-lived.

Life goes on.

Beautiful Glide of a Great Blue Heron

Watching Great Blue Herons fly to their nests was an opportunity that I don't get very often. 

The Heron in the photo above is flying in its classic pose.  It has left the nest and is heading for fishing. 

 

Approaching the nest the Heron stretches out its neck.  Landing should be calculated to the smallest little detail.  

The Heron is hovering in the air before landing on the nest.  It only lasts a few seconds.

Great Blue Herons are still at the Farmington Bay rookery.  Unfortunately, I haven't been there for a few weeks and, probably, the young ones grew up and got stronger.

Life goes on.