{"id":166051,"date":"2024-12-31T06:06:50","date_gmt":"2024-12-31T13:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=166051"},"modified":"2024-12-31T07:07:33","modified_gmt":"2024-12-31T14:07:33","slug":"great-blue-heron-swallowing-a-huge-goldfish-in-falling-micro-snow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2024\/12\/31\/great-blue-heron-swallowing-a-huge-goldfish-in-falling-micro-snow\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Blue Heron Swallowing A Huge Goldfish In Falling Micro-snow"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday morning, despite thick cloud cover and intermittent light snow, I decided to go looking for birds. When it comes to bird photography, I can be a glutton for punishment.<\/p>\n

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1\/1250, f\/5.6, ISO 1600, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

This statuesque Great Blue Heron was the first bird I found. ‘He’ barely moved while I was with him the first time, so I didn’t stay there long. The hundreds of tiny white specks you see in the setting are what I call “micro-snow” – tiny falling ice crystals that were so small I wasn’t even aware of them, except for barely noticing them hitting my windshield.<\/p>\n

When the heron didn’t move for so long, I went looking for other birds in a different area. When I returned to the heron six minutes later, he had something large and fluorescent orange in his bill that I couldn’t identify with the naked eye. My first thought was that it might be a piece of pumpkin but that didn’t make much sense. Then I wondered if it could be an orange tennis ball but that seemed equally illogical.<\/p>\n

I couldn’t tell what it was until I got him in my viewfinder.<\/span><\/p>\n

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1\/1250, f\/7.1, ISO 2500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

It turned out to be one of the largest, most brightly colored goldfish I’ve seen.\u00a0 Someone had apparently released their pet goldfish into the pond. It has a terminal mouth and no barbels, so I don’t believe it’s a koi.<\/p>\n

For about the first five minutes I was with the heron he made no attempt to swallow the fish – he just stood there in this exact pose. I had the impression he’d tried to swallow it before I got there and failed because it was too big, but I don’t know that for fact.<\/p>\n

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1\/1250, f\/7.1, ISO 2500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

Finally, after a long time, he dipped the fish into the water and…<\/p>\n

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1\/1250, f\/7.1, ISO 2500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

turned it headfirst in his bill before attempting to swallow it.<\/p>\n

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1\/1250, f\/7.1, ISO 2500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

That fish was a chunk, especially for a goldfish.<\/p>\n

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1\/1600, f\/7.1, ISO 2500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

He was making progress but very slowly. There was no head-pumping like there often is when a heron tries to swallow a big fish. Instead, he appeared to be trying to ‘walk’ the fish down into his throat by using his bill to move it from side to side with…<\/p>\n

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1\/1600, f\/7.1, ISO 2500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

the aid of gravity.<\/p>\n

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1\/1600, f\/7.1, ISO 2500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

It’s amazing how much their…<\/p>\n

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1\/1600, f\/7.1, ISO 2500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

throat and neck can expand to accommodate a large meal. This is the last I saw of the still living fish (its tail was wiggling until it disappeared down the heron’s throat).<\/p>\n

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1\/1600, f\/7.1, ISO 2500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

Turning the ‘corner’ really made his upper neck bulge, almost grotesquely.<\/p>\n

This heron swallowing a goldfish was a first for me. Which is probably why it took me so long to realize what it was.<\/p>\n

Ron<\/p>\n

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PS – Some readers may be interested in knowing that the broken taillight housing on my pickup has now been replaced and is working. At the exact moment I was researching getting an aftermarket replacement from Amazon rather than purchasing an OEM replacement from Ford, I got a text from my good friend and neighbor, Shane Smith. Within minutes Shane had ordered the aftermarket replacement for me. It arrived Saturday and we installed it late yesterday afternoon. Thanks, Shane.<\/em><\/p>\n

It would have cost me over $500 from Ford (installed) but the aftermarket version from Amazon was only $40 and to me they seem identical. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark…<\/em><\/p>\n

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The fish was a chunk, especially for a goldfish. (10 photos)<\/p>\n

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