Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Green Heron hunting

I was watching a Green Heron hunting in the Allen Brothers marsh in Bellows Falls. It would stand motionless for minutes at a time and then suddenly stretch its neck forward, flap its wings and come up with a small fish in its beak.  It caught two fish during the twenty minutes I was there.









Stalking slowly on the thick vegetation in the shallow water it caught another fish.



 


The fish slid down the hatch....
It's been reported that sometimes Green Herons use bait to lure fish. They may drop a worm  or insect into the water and wait for hungry fish to swarm to the object and then pounce on them with their beak. BNA Online: "One bird dug earthworms from mud and used them as bait, and twice birds broke pieces of stick to make bait, an example of tool-making." Authors: Davis, Jr., W. E., and J. A. Kushlan



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28 comments:

  1. Lynne at Hasty BrookJuly 26, 2011 at 9:19 AM

    What a wonderful series of photos!

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  2. GuyJuly 26, 2011 at 9:37 AM

    Hi Hilke Great shots and great information. I had never heard that herons use bait much less that they adapt sticks to use as lures. It does show how much is going on around us all the time.

    Regards
    Guy

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  3. Hilke BrederJuly 26, 2011 at 10:47 AM

    Thanks for your comments!

    Guy, it's not a great surprise that these birds would eventually evolve to use bait, given their style of hunting, but them fabricating bait themselves is a huge step up!

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  4. UnknownJuly 26, 2011 at 12:31 PM

    Gret post Hilke!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  5. holdingmomentsJuly 26, 2011 at 1:13 PM

    Great series Hilke.
    Sounds like a pretty smart bird to me.

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  6. MaineBirderJuly 26, 2011 at 1:42 PM

    Fantastic post and images Hilke! Very interesting about the "tool making" that these birds do.

    My World Bird Wednesday post: Hummingbird Elegance

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  7. theconstantwalkerJuly 26, 2011 at 2:21 PM

    It's great to watch Herons feeding... to capture them with prey is fantastic.
    A lovely series Hilke.

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  8. jooJuly 26, 2011 at 3:11 PM

    Wonderful set Hilke! I'd love to see it in wild one day!

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  9. Modesto ViegasJuly 26, 2011 at 4:30 PM

    well done!

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  10. eileeninmdJuly 26, 2011 at 7:15 PM

    Wonderful series of Gren heron photos. Great capture of it fishing. It is one of my favorite herons.

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  11. SpringmanJuly 26, 2011 at 8:59 PM

    Great captures Hilke! I'm hoping to share some Green heron pictures soon too. I've been seeing lots of them lately. These are a great sequence of the master hunter at work. Also facinating information about GH's baiting fish. Excellent as always!

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  12. NeilJuly 27, 2011 at 6:32 AM

    Great photos they are a bit like our Striated Heron here in Aust.

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  13. ArijaJuly 27, 2011 at 7:46 AM

    Great shots. To me they look oddly like a parson walking about thinking of his Sunday sermon.

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  14. jeanlivingsimpleJuly 27, 2011 at 9:53 AM

    Super captures and very interesting info. Thanks!

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  15. PatJuly 27, 2011 at 4:36 PM

    Fantastic captures of the Green Heron in action! What a hunter!

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  16. LarryJuly 27, 2011 at 5:00 PM

    Great shots of the Green Heron fishing Hilke! These are probably my favorite herons. They are excellent fishers. I love that shot with the wings up and what looks like an eel in the beak!

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  17. KellyJuly 28, 2011 at 12:28 AM

    I love the captures of the heron with his prey, Hilke!

    I watched one use bait in Hilton Head 2 years ago. He laid out a curly piece of leaf on the surface of the water!

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  18. Dan HuberJuly 28, 2011 at 8:25 AM

    great post - these are such pretty birds and wonderful to watch

    dan

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  19. mickJuly 28, 2011 at 3:42 PM

    A great series of photos. Especially nice to see the fish in the heron's beak.

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  20. Dawn FineJuly 28, 2011 at 11:25 PM

    What fun! Cool Series.

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  21. ReenaJuly 29, 2011 at 12:24 PM

    Great captures of the herons and their fishing. Learned something new today! Glad you stopped by and now you have a new follower!

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  22. FABJuly 29, 2011 at 5:17 PM

    Lovely series of shots Hilke showing the consumate fisherman at work.

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  23. Stewart MJuly 30, 2011 at 5:11 AM

    Hi there - great set of pictures - one of the fish looks like a huge tadpole! Evolution at work. Such a simple idea - such remarkable outcomes!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Australia

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  24. NicoleJuly 30, 2011 at 11:22 PM

    Awesome captures!
    I love the ones with his catch!

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  25. UnknownAugust 1, 2011 at 2:04 PM

    Wonderful series! Great looking heron.

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  26. Harold StiverAugust 1, 2011 at 10:49 PM

    Thats a great series. They are really excellent fishers, better than most herons I think.

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  27. Kathie BrownAugust 8, 2011 at 11:46 AM

    I am always amazed and how long their necks extend when you first see them with their necks retracted! I have had some people say to me that they are not the same bird! I did not know about the baiting, though. That is incredible!

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  28. NatureFootstepAugust 16, 2011 at 5:32 AM

    great shots of the green heron. A bird I saw but never got close too in Costa Rica.

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