Post by Ely Teehankee on Nov 7, 2012 20:13:29 GMT
When I saw this Green Heron stalking for a fish as the water from the Tarcoles River exits into the Pacific Ocean, I tried to get as close as possible without scaring the bird away. His stare into the water was so intense that I thought I could get really get close. But when I got too close, he would stop and look at me. I would stand very still and wait for him to relax and continue his hunt. We came to a mutual understanding that at 11.3 meters I can watch him and he can go about his business.
Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, Canon EF 300mm
f/2.8L IS USM with Canon Extender 2X II.
Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, Wimberley WH200 head. Manual exposure in available light. All pictures taken at 1/800 sec., f/8, ISO 400
At times the Green Heron (Butorides virescens) 18 inches (48 cm) would walk and stop at a place where he thinks there might be a fish. After a few minutes he would walk very slowly to another place and wait again. This went on for about half an hour until he strikes his bill into the water and when the commotion was over a fish was in between his bill.
Instead of catching the fish near the head where he would have better control of the fish he caught it at the tail end. The fish struggles to get out of the grip of the bill so it swings back and forth and the bird would tighten his grip on the fish so as not to lose his meal.
It is a good size fish to feed this hungry bird. It looks like a mullet and the fish continues to struggle to get away but the grip only becomes tighter.
The fish flips itself upward in the hope of getting away but the Green Heron holds on.
The more the fish struggles the weaker it becomes. I think the bird senses this and maintains his grip on the fish.
The fish jumps up again with the hope of escape.
After several minutes of struggle and being out of the water, the fish seems unable to escape. He flips one more time as traces of water comes out of its mouth. The Green Heron knowing that the fish is too weak to get away starts to adjust the position of the fish so that he can swallow the whole fish.
As the Green Heron swallow the fish in a rapid motion, the bird throat's looks bigger.
The bird had his fill for the moment and starts to walk away giving me the chance to take his picture from another angle. To summarize we were both happy that we got what we wanted.
Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, Canon EF 300mm
f/2.8L IS USM with Canon Extender 2X II.
Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, Wimberley WH200 head. Manual exposure in available light. All pictures taken at 1/800 sec., f/8, ISO 400
At times the Green Heron (Butorides virescens) 18 inches (48 cm) would walk and stop at a place where he thinks there might be a fish. After a few minutes he would walk very slowly to another place and wait again. This went on for about half an hour until he strikes his bill into the water and when the commotion was over a fish was in between his bill.
Instead of catching the fish near the head where he would have better control of the fish he caught it at the tail end. The fish struggles to get out of the grip of the bill so it swings back and forth and the bird would tighten his grip on the fish so as not to lose his meal.
It is a good size fish to feed this hungry bird. It looks like a mullet and the fish continues to struggle to get away but the grip only becomes tighter.
The fish flips itself upward in the hope of getting away but the Green Heron holds on.
The more the fish struggles the weaker it becomes. I think the bird senses this and maintains his grip on the fish.
The fish jumps up again with the hope of escape.
After several minutes of struggle and being out of the water, the fish seems unable to escape. He flips one more time as traces of water comes out of its mouth. The Green Heron knowing that the fish is too weak to get away starts to adjust the position of the fish so that he can swallow the whole fish.
As the Green Heron swallow the fish in a rapid motion, the bird throat's looks bigger.
The bird had his fill for the moment and starts to walk away giving me the chance to take his picture from another angle. To summarize we were both happy that we got what we wanted.
