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Great Blue Heron Eating Habits

These Great Blue Heron pictures were taken at Carver Pond on Memorial Day Weekend. We stayed in Bridgewater to avoid traffic and decided to take advantage of all of the wonderful parks in the are. (Earlier this day we went to the Tuckerwood Conservation Area, and then went directly to Carver Pond.)

Anyone want to take a guess at what kind of fish it's eating? I haven't a clue, but I do know it's huge! I would never expect to see a great blue heron eating a fish that large, but that just goes to show how much I know about great blue heron eating habits.

What's funny is that I wasn't even trying to sneak up upon this great blue heron eating its dinner. I was simply walking down to the water to (yes- this is gross) wash off the mess of a mosquito I squashed on my leg that happened to be full of my blood- yuck. Once I was down at the water's edge I saw the great blue heron across the way and of course whipped out my camera.

For those of you local to Massachusetts, here are some links about fishing and visiting Carver Pond (but be forewarned that you'll have to compete with these great blue herons!):

http://www.fishingworks.com/lakes/massachusetts/plymouth/bridgewater/carver-pond/
http://www.hookandbullet.com/fishing-carver-pond-bridgewater-ma/
http://www.bridgewaterma.org/Government/Commissions/PSC/Parks.shtml
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Comments

meg said…
great pics! LOVE great blue herons! i can never get that close before they fly away!
July 16, 2010 at 7:02:00 AM PDT
fishing report said…
These pictures look amazing! Thanks for sharing them. I really hope that we dont loose these beautiful birds because of the oil spill that has happened and how we seem to not really take care of the environment. For sure that needs to change.
July 21, 2010 at 2:46:00 PM PDT
Birdinggirl said…
@meg: Thanks! I was excited to stumble upon one eating- and eating such a large fish. P.S. Can't wait for our vacation!! Whoooo :)

@fishing report: You're absolutely right- the impact of the oil spill on wildlife needs to have a bigger presence in the media. It's really sad how little coverage (and celebrity support!) it's gotten. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
July 22, 2010 at 10:25:00 AM PDT
Chris Petrak said…
Astounding what a heron can get down its throat - at least I assume it swallowed it whole. Wish I knew more about fish ID.
July 23, 2010 at 5:43:00 AM PDT
cindyzlogic said…
Great captures!! You're a true avid birder :-)
July 24, 2010 at 2:24:00 PM PDT
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