Watching a heron fish requires several key operating essentials: A zoom (unless your subject is closer than mine!), a tree or fence to lean against to steady that zoom (if you don't have a tripod, which I don't), and more patience than I ever thought I would acquire in life. Ever.
Because lots of the action looks like this.
Unless it looks like this.
Of course, then he might start to walk -- this could mean one of several things. He spots a fish ahead; even if he doesn't, this fishing hole isn't working; or he's just bored and ready to move on.
I like watching him stalk -- slow, graceful, deliberate.
Then he stops and looks like this.
Yup! This is the place!
Boom!
On this day, he is doing his best to rid the pond of its koi.
And he was pretty lucky! Or maybe not!
Another day, another fish!
If he's lucky he comes up with something. If not, he might go back.
But this time he caught a big one.
(None of us Ditchies knew there were fish that big in the pond!)
And it appears, he may have lost it. At least he was having trouble handling it.
Maybe not, but quite a struggle.
He wandered over to the reeds with his capture.
I can't help but wonder what's in there -- he was very preoccupied with something out of view.
Any ideas, bird fans?
So, what about a little snack, nothing so large and bony. How about...
...a dragonfly.
Check his mouth.
I think he may have lost this one, too.
He sure was having trouble! Those dragonfly wings must tickle!
But somehow, I don't think Harry's going to starve.
Our boy is pretty resourceful!
Sometimes, it's just a beautiful day in the neighborhood.
Sharing this week with: Share Your Cup Saturday's Critters / Let's Add Sprinkles
42 comments:
Love fishing with Harry - great pics and I love your dialogue. The birds in my area usually don't get close enough to grab a shot. Other times in parking lots or yards a bird will stand and let me inch closer for 1 blurry pic.
That was really fun. You had me laughing right out loud. I never would have guessed that Herons eat dragonflies. I feel kind of bad about that. I guess him mom never told him never to touch or kill one because they're 'special' like mine did.
Who knew that I would enjoy fishing? Maybe it's not the fishing as much as the company. Have a great weekend, Jeanie.
Enjoy watching them fish except we it's in our backyard
Then Mac drives them off. No eating our fish.
It is a beautiful day because you got some amazing shots Jeanie. Wow! Nice captures and good for you to have the patience to watch him-and the ability to do that. happy almost time to start the weekend. Hugs-Erika
Great series of images, Jeanie. I am impressed!
You take such beautiful pictures! Have a wonderful weekend.
Harry is amazing and such a beautiful bird. Do you think he has a honey in the weeds?
Great pictures .... finally feeling a little better and I am home thank goodness. It is going to take a long time to recover, I'm not a Spring Chicken anymore LOL.
Have a wonderful weekend and many thanks for your prayers and good wishes.
Love
Mary
Very impressive pictures of ..Harry! This post resembles what we used to call a "photo roman"- photos which when put together, tell a story. Your text at the bottom adds to the narrative.
Harry would be quite proud seeing all these wonderful photos of him. So much fun!
Those are great photos of the heron. Exciting to see him catch his dinner. Have a wonderful weekend. Blessings, xoxo, Susie
Isn't it amazing how they can remain in one position forever? They don't even blink! But still so much fun to watch them, especially when they finally catch something. I once watched a great blue catching a crayfish, that was quite interesting as well.
Fascinating! Some people in our neighborhood put in fountains and pools and then stocked the pools with expensive fish. Herons came and dined in style! Now they have a net over it all.
Love the photos of Harry out fishing, and I know it takes a lot of patience to catch herons 'at work'! Thanks for sharing this wonderful series. Have a great weekend, hugs, Valerie
Wow those are some really good pictures! Enjoyed seeing them. My favorite is the one of him when he first plunges his beak down into the water for his prey. How is your weather there for this weekend? Its hot here!
Gosh aren't we lucky that we can just go down to the shops to buy our dinner?! What a brill set of photos, I'm so pleased that you got your gotcha moments and hope that Harry enjoyed his tea after all that effort!
Wren x
Fantastic set of photos. Quite enjoyable!
Delightful . . .
Invite me to go fishing with you and Harry . . . again!
You made me so laugh! Oh, poor Harry, he doesn´t seem the best hunter around!
This was really great, like watching a short movie indeed! Thanks for the fun - and your patience :-)
Am I glad I´m not a heron - I have trouble with cooked fish already.
Always a marvel watching nature:) Such oblong bodies on such long stick like stilts..love em in Fl:)
How fun to watch Harry stalk and nail his prey! LOL
But, I must admit, as somebody who has struggled to have the koi live over a winter in a man-made (as the Beverly Hillybillies said) 'cement pond,' I sort of cringe seeing him dive after a koi. LOL
(love the way you capture the water ripples with your camera - gorgeous!)
Enjoy your mother's day weekend!
How cute, Jeanie. Harry is a handsome lad and looks to be a pretty good fisherman. Looks like you have some huge dragonflies around there. What fun to see what he is all about and you should be rewarded for your patience..Happy Weekend..xxoJudy
Hello Jeanie, I enjoyed your series of Harry fishing for his dinner. Great collection of photos. I love watching the herons, they are usually great at catching their food. Very patient birds. Thank you so much for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your day and weekend. Happy Mother's Day!
Wonderful series of photos of 'Dinner with Harry' ~ great!
Happy Mother's Day ~ xxx
Happy Weekend to you,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
OH my goodness - how beautiful!! You sure made me laugh with the first photos of all the "action" haha! Well worth the wait! We have these around us as we have lots of forest preserves but I usually only see them from a distance not up this close. Beautiful creatures!!
Jeanie, I love herons! And your photo series and commentary are outstanding. Bravo!
A fun post! I love to see the Great Blue Herons
Have a wonderful weekend!
The big fish in Harry’s mouth is amazing. I never have that chance to shoot such a pic, or maybe the fish in my Pond aren’t as big. I can see the patience and the waiting time involved. Great post!
How cool! I wonder if there are mollusks in the reeds? We see a resident heron on our river, and I know our neighbor's docks have mollusks beneath.....great pictures, Jeanie! Enjoy your weekened!
Your patience paid off Jeanie, beautiful photos. Harry has a fan club now! :-) x
Fabulous photos! The heron is gorgeous!
Jeanie, your Harry photos are remarkable. I love fishing with Harry, the heron, he is fun to watch!
A fabulous series of photos. Well done! Yet more proof that patience is a virtue!!!
Oh Harry! You are indeed entertaining to us all. You know you are quite famous! I love your resourcefulness. Could there be a nest inside the tall plants? Humm? Is Mrs. Harry hiding in there?
What a handsome beauty is Harry... and fun all these action shots! These could be stills from a nature program, Jeanie... so well taken! And I like that little ode to M. Rodgers with the beautiful day in the neigHborhood. :) ((HUGS))
You know I love this series! It always makes me so happy when one of these birds actually gets a good-sized fish. I'm sure they're happy, too -- especially if they can swallow it. Harry's just delightful, and it's fun to see him going about his herony life, right there in front of you.
When I was down at the wildlife refuge this weekend, I was surprised (and a little distressed) to see they had drained some of the ponds. I'm sure there's a good reason -- those are managed lands, after all, and from time to time water gets shunted around so they can do pond maintenance, or concentrate water during a drought -- but it still was disappointing to not have the birds to photograph. In the end, of course, I photographed plants instead -- there's always something to see!
Quite a bird! They're so patient when they're at work. I haven't seen one yet, but they do migrate back up here for the warmer weather.
Wonderful photos! I really enjoyed hunting with Harry. Such magnificent birds. My favorite is when he spied the fish. Such concentration! Looks like a beautiful day, too. xx Karen
Amazing photos. Thanks for sharing Harry's exploits.
Those are some beautiful shots!! I’ve never seen a bird catch a fish so thank you for sharing! He’s quite the fisherman... err fisher bird!
Wow. Great pictures. I love herons. Thanks for sharing at Keep In Touch.
So fun Jeanie! I loved your narrating!! Yes, he is indeed a good fisher. :) Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
Post a Comment