Vagabond's roach thread got me thinking about birds that fish and Herons especially. I love to watch them and also get a chuckle out of the way they squawk and grumble if I get too close and they feel the need to leave their fishing spot.

I saw a great video clip yesterday of a heron with a large fish that the bird evidently worried about escaping during the normal course of eating it. The heron walked over to a nearby log and proceeded to bash the fish head first into the log about a half dozen times before eating it. The size was about like in this picture although this isn't one of my local birds. I don't think we have any of the grey herons where I live.



Mine are more like this big fella on a local river.



Considering their fishing methods, I've always sorta wondered what this one was doing way up in the tree. Late fall since the cypress trees had shed all their folage so it couldn't have been dealing with a nest. The great blue herons do like tall trees for nesting but not this time of year.

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Nice pictures Newt - saw plenty of Gt Blues down in Costa Rica recently,and expect to see a few more in Texas soon.

They are very similar to our Greys - main differences are the black patch in front of the eye (shows well in your top picture)and darker undercarriage in the Gt Blue.

What sort of fish is the bird holding ? It doesn't appear to be one of the bass/sunfish group (fins and tail wrong shape).

You say "river" - is this picture taken in the tidal reach ? 'Cos the fish has a tail like one of the weakfish/croaker family, which are found in brackish water.

Or am I up the wrong creek? :confused:

[ 27. January 2004, 01:28 PM: Message edited by: Vagabond ]

Sorry I wasn't too clear Vagabond. The bird holding the fish isn't my picture. Taken in South America somewhere and I have no idea what species of fish. Just put that one in to show the general bird-to-fish size of the one I saw on video bashing the fish to keep it still for eating. It's a much more colorful bird than our local ones are. The fish in the video clip was a largemouth bass though.

The other two pics are from a river that is sort of tidal. About 40 miles in from the Albemarle Sound and usually only ever gets slightly brackish. A good hurricane will push water this far up river though and it can get really salty for short periods.

[ 27. January 2004, 03:24 PM: Message edited by: Newt ]

Ah so. Have only fished once in freshwater in S. America. Caught some piranha and a few other species in some pools off the River Napo in Eastern Ecuador.

Lots of fish species in S.Am that I am not familiar with. Many begin with P (Pacu, Paloma, Payara, Peacockfish, Pellona, Piranha, Piraputanga and Pirarucu )
Must consider a serious fishing expedition to the Amazon Basin sometime.