Little Greenie In Action

Yesterday evening we were watching this green heron fishing in the salt marsh during low tide. Green herons are compact, active, and very intelligent birds that are also quite skilled at hunting down a meal.

After stalking a fish near an oyster clump, the excited heron quickly rushes out of the water with it’s catch. The idea of bringing the fish onto land is that if the little greenie were to drop his fish (and they often do drop them) the fish will not be able to swim away, and it can still be picked back up and swallowed down.

I saw this green heron catch four or five fish like this a short amount of time while several egrets, blue herons, ibis, and wood storks in the same area were still going for their first!

28 thoughts on “Little Greenie In Action”

Chillbrook on July 30, 2014 at 3:57 pm said:

Fabulous Phil!

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- Phil Lanoue on July 30, 2014 at 4:11 pm said:
  
  Thanks Adrian! Did you notice the fish shadow on the oysters? 🙂
  
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Edna on July 30, 2014 at 4:15 pm said:

Smartest of them all – obviously! It’s amazing that you were able to capture Green Herons at all Phil. Aren’t they so elusive to catch? Well, for one, I can never get a good shot of ours here in our marsh (those buggers). #2 Pic is especially riveting :D! Bravo!!!

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- Phil Lanoue on July 31, 2014 at 4:49 pm said:
  
  Green herons are often stalking the edge of the water hidden behind tall weeds or grass but when I see one in the open like this little guy I try to keep my eye on him.
  Glad you liked these pics!
  
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Scott Marshall on July 30, 2014 at 4:29 pm said:

great – made by the stance of the bird complimenting its streamlined shape

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- Phil Lanoue on July 31, 2014 at 4:49 pm said:
  
  Thanks much Scott, I appreciate you looking and commenting.
  
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Judy on July 30, 2014 at 4:56 pm said:

That fish shadow does look cool!! Often times, shadows are a fun part of the image. Adds those little details that tickle your consciousness the more you look into an image. Always love your shots of birds working hard for a meal.

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- Phil Lanoue on July 31, 2014 at 4:51 pm said:
  
  The little fish shadow was just an added bonus. I was already happy to be able to watch and photograph this cool little heron.
  
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foxleylady on July 30, 2014 at 5:33 pm said:

These are terrific pictures of one of my favourites, Phil! The detail is fantastic!

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- Phil Lanoue on July 31, 2014 at 4:52 pm said:
  
  Thank you Maggie! I’m always happy to see one of these cute little out hunting for his dinner!
  
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Linda on July 30, 2014 at 6:26 pm said:

How Beautiful Phil, your work is amazing!!

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- Phil Lanoue on July 31, 2014 at 4:53 pm said:
  
  I appreciate that very much Linda, thank you!
  
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Mary Strong-Spaid on July 30, 2014 at 7:47 pm said:

The little fish shadow…an added bonus. Did you notice that shadow while you were taking the photo? I usually don’t notice little things like that until afterwards, when I see the photo on the larger computer monitor. I am always thrilled by the extra surprise!

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- Phil Lanoue on July 31, 2014 at 4:56 pm said:
  
  I actually did notice the fish shadow while taking these photos because I was aware of that oyster clump behind the bird. At first I did not like it being there thinking it would ruin the background, but once I noticed the shadow I went with it.
  
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DUTCH FARLEY on July 30, 2014 at 7:56 pm said:

WISHED I HAD THE ENVIRONMENT YOU ARE IN TO WOK AS I LOVE PHOTOGRAPHING BIRDS . CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT CAMERA AND LENS YOU USE ?

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- Phil Lanoue on July 31, 2014 at 4:57 pm said:
  
  I use a Canon 7D with a Canon 300mm lens. Thanks for checking these out.
  
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anotherday2paradise on July 31, 2014 at 1:06 am said:

What a beautiful bird, Phil Great captures of his fishing expedition, and no closeups of the fish’s eyes. 😀

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- Phil Lanoue on July 31, 2014 at 4:58 pm said:
  
  Well I was a bit nervous about presenting these to you Sylvia because even there was is no extreme close up of the little fish face, there is a certain matter of dripping blood in play here. Yikes
  
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  - anotherday2paradise on July 31, 2014 at 7:09 pm said:
    
    I can handle blood, but not terrified eyes. 😯
    
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    - Phil Lanoue on August 2, 2014 at 3:31 pm said:
      
      Those big pleading eyes do tend to get to ya.
      
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Fotografin Thee Ballmer on July 31, 2014 at 3:00 am said:

Wonderful bird! Great shot, LG Thee

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- Phil Lanoue on July 31, 2014 at 4:59 pm said:
  
  Thank you for looking and commenting and glad you liked these photos.
  
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dinajohnston on July 31, 2014 at 11:26 am said:

Perfect shots! It’s not often you see a greenie with a fish on his beak. They usually swallow them quickly.

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- Phil Lanoue on July 31, 2014 at 5:01 pm said:
  
  They do usually gulp the fish down fast but this fish was just a bit too big to gulp quickly and that’s why he took it out of the water. He did actually drop this fish too and those are shots for another day. 🙂
  
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The Dancing Rider on July 31, 2014 at 3:05 pm said:

Great sequence! You’ve captured quite a silhouette of Mr. Greenie’s little snack. The outline is quite sharp, amazing. I really like the size of the green heron. 🙂

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- Phil Lanoue on July 31, 2014 at 5:02 pm said:
  
  I’m glad you liked seeing these photos of this cool little heron in action. They are fun birds and very smart too. They are one of the only birds that will use bait to fish.
  
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Cowboys and Crossbones on August 1, 2014 at 3:56 pm said:

Looks as if you caught a master in action!

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- Phil Lanoue on August 2, 2014 at 3:31 pm said:
  
  This little dude is slick. He was putting on a clinic out there too!
  
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