Last Fish Of The Night
Earlier this week I was watching this great blue heron fishing at the edge of the marsh pond just prior to sunset. The heron was back lit by the setting sun which cast a yellow hue on the water, and on the fish. After catching this fish the great blue was ready to call it a night. The alligators will remain out there however, since they don’t mind hunting in the dark!
Great capture!
Cheers,Laura
Hey thanks Laura, I aappreciate it!
Wow, what a picture! Lighting is beautiful!
________________________________
This was high ISO stuff too as it was close to dark. Thanks Sue.
Splendid photowork!
Thanks so much Hans!
As usual excellent. I am still fascinated at how they pierce the fish. Looks like that is a common method for a lot of birds.
Thanks Judy, I’m happy you like this pic! The GBH is one bird that is fully capable of either spearing or grabbing a fish. They are expert at both and I think it sometimes only depends on where they strike the fish.
Nice catch!
Thanks very much Björn I appreciate it very much!
Again Chopsticks for the meal?! Nice! °.°
He must like chopsticks very much and it does seem to work well for him. 🙂
AHA, this is his Betthupferl…wundervolles photo.
Danke, so glad you like this photo!
Eye of heron showing is *really* pointedly focused on that catch.
He does seem quite focused doesn’t he?!
Cool shot, Phil! Enjoy the dinner 🙂
Thank you Amy I appreciate you looking and commenting!
Great pic. Love those details. Hope he enjoyed his meal.
Glad you liked the pic and I’m sure he liked his dinner!
Looks like that ought to hold him ’til morning. Wonderful shooting as usual… 😀
That last one combined with the ones I saw him catch previously should hold him just fine. 🙂
Thanks for checking out this photo!
The late day light is very interesting on the eye of the bird and on the fish!! Does not look very grainy either considering high ISO. I was not consciously aware of the head first swallowing until seeing your series shots of head first consumption. Prior to that I’d mostly seen fish coming back out at the nest fin first but never thought about it. The other day I read somewhere doing bird research that they swallow head first. So I guess its a known thing. Wonder what the parents teach them….Don’t swallow until you see the whites of their eyes?? 🙂
Thanks for your very kind words and I’m happy you enjoyed this photo. I pretty much always see them swallow the fish head first. The other way could cut up their mouth and throat with the fish fins. I have seen a GBH with a cut tongue which I’m betting happened on a fish swallow.
Wow! Fantastic shot. The light is amazing!
Thanks much Tricia so glad you liked this!
What amazing color and light this image has. Fabulous Phil.
Thank you Emily I’m very happy you enjoyed this GBH pic!
That’s a wonderful photo. The fish looks so perfect, even as it’s impaled on a beak!
Glad you like the photo and poor Mr. Fish is not having a good night for sure.
Nice big supper. 🙂 Another stunning pic, Phil.
That fish combined with the ones he grabbed previously should fill the heron up quite nicely! 🙂
It’s a beautiful picture – with the sun turning the water into a soft apricot pond – and he does look satisfied with his well-speared fish. It’s really quite a good size, isn’t it, relative to his body. How many would he need to eat in a day, Phil?
Thanks very much for you kind comments about this photo and I’m glad you enjoyed it.
It would not be unusual for me to see a heron get 5 or 6 fish like this in a short time. I’m not sure if it was fishing all day or doing other things. I think they will fish as long as they can when the fishing is good because there is no guarantee they will be that successful tomorrow.
Lovely photo Phil – unless you are the fish!
Thank Andrew, and not a good night for poor Mr. Fish at all.
Wonderful shot, amazing light!
Thanks a lot Jan I appreciate you checking out this photo!
One of my favourites birds, Phil! The lighting and detail are, as usual, brilliant! Thank you!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this GBH photo Maggie, thanks!
oh wow that one’s stabbed 😀
great capture 🙂
Oh it sure was stabbed alright! Although the GBH is fully capable of grabbing a fish between it’s bill the bird is just as happy to stab it!
Do the Great Blue Heron spear fish often? I see them fishing here, but never saw a speared fish. I also am never that close either.
I have seen them both grab a fish with their bill and spear one. I honestly think it’s just matter of how they hit the fish once they strike at it. The herons are so quick at that I think they don’t know themselves until they come up out of the water whether it’s speared or just grabbed. Either way, the fish is almost certainly met it’s demise.
It would seem a dilemma to get it off the beak with no hands though. 😀
That fish looks very fed up Phil. Quite an expression on its face or perhaps this is just me. I think I’d be pretty fed up too mind you, with a beak through my middle. 😦
Oh yeah that is a bad night for Mr. Fish no doubt about it. I’ve seen herons drop fish and the fish get away but not this one. 😯
What a beautiful portrait! I love the lighting / coloring….
Thanks so much I appreciate you checking it out!
An expert spear fisher!
Fabulous shot, Phil!
He is very good at that! Thanks!
Outch! That looks painfull for the little fishy.
Loved this one especially all the colours