“Crabby” – 1 Night Heron – 0

This past weekend we were watching a juvenile night heron that was searching for a meal in the salt marsh at low tide.
The night heron was suddenly very excited to find what he thought would be a quick and easy catch when he spotted this crab in the shallow water.
Well…it turned out that the crab was very excited too, but obviously for different reasons!
When the bird tried to snatch up the tasty treat, crabby fought back and bit the heron’s face and stuck it in the eye with a claw.
Yikes! The young heron jumped back! He was not expecting this.
Well now the fight is on! The night heron has it’s wings raised up in full alert mode, and the crab is doing the same with it’s claws.
The young night heron makes another attempt to capture it’s prize but once again crabby is on the offensive!
The crab sinks both claws into the bird’s bill which causes the heron to twist it’s head to quickly shake off the crab.
That’s it. The fight is over. The night heron admits defeat by flying off and leaving crabby still defiantly displaying it’s claws in victory!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

56 thoughts on ““Crabby” – 1 Night Heron – 0”

    • Thanks much, I’m happy you enjoyed the photos and story. Occasionally we will see one of the wading birds suddenly jump up while feeding and I suspect they just stepped on a crab.
      The youngster probably did learn a lesson but will also be right back at it soon enough I’m guessing.

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    • Well I really appreciate you checking out the pics and commenting! So glad that you like the story of the night heron and crabby.
      It’s funny in the last photo where the heron is finally flying away…is it just me or does it seem to have a look of disappointment on it’s face? 😉

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  12. What a wonderful sequence. It’s one thing to see a beautiful photo of a bird, but quite another to have an “event” captured in this way. It gives far more insight into the life they live – and after all, they do have lives! They’re not meant just to stand around and pose for us.

    I’ve become so enthused that I have a new Sibley’s, and one of these days will have some binoculars, too. It’s going to take some study to begin getting familiar with the juveniles and females – another wonderful benefit of your blog.

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    • I greatly appreciate your kind comments, thanks very much!
      We often say the same thing about the birds, they do have lives. They feed, they fly, they fight, they mate, they can be amazingly interesting to observe. They quite often seem to have personalities as well.
      Glad to hear they you have gotten some helpful info from my blog. 🙂

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    • Thanks a million! Yeah the juvies can be fun. This one had the idea down and the technique down, but just had a little trouble with the follow through.
      I’m betting though it will end up doing just fine!

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  19. Quel combat ! on s’y croirai vraiment. La nature nous offre tant de beautée et de suspence ne reste plus pour nous qu’à les admirer lorsque des photographes avisés parviennent à capturer certains de ces instants magiques.

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  25. I really like the way you manage to present a story through all your photos, they make you feel like you are right there…, your photos make the experience close and true! – I`m delighted to have found your blog 🙂

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    • Wow! Thank you for your very kind words and I am so happy you have visited my blog and really glad you enjoy the photos and stories. I’m glad to hear you say the photos and stories make you feel like you are there, that’s very much what I’m hoping to accomplish. 🙂

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      • Delighted to hear that I brought that to your attention :), and glad to know that even in a Pro`s world, feedback can be appreciated! I have looked at your Fine Art gallery as well, and guess you have been told this before 😉

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  27. You truly have an amazing catalog of bird behavior, here, Phil. It is very interesting seeing less common behaviors for birds I’m familiar with, such as night herons eating crabs, or spoonbills harassing crocs! 🙂 Great stuff!

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