Green Heron: Fishing from a Tree

At 5:00am the irritating sound of my alarm clock roused me from my deep slumber. Staggering into the kitchen in my sleepy stupor I made my way towards the fridge to begin preparing my morning cereal. No, it’s Saturday, and I really don’t have to get up this early! Still stumbling about I returned to the snug comfort of bed. When I awoke again I felt refreshed and the sun was not yet up. Passing the fridge I grabbed a banana, swung the camera bag on my shoulder and snagged the tripod while heading out the door.

Too late to photograph the dawn, I headed instead for the Haines-Seville. While covering the few miles to my destination I realized that I should have taken time to grab a pair of rubber boots as I would be walking some distance through grass and everything was drenched with heavy dew.

Soon after setting out on foot I was soaked to the knees. Before I could get into position I bumped into a flock of wood ducks. Being totally wild birds that are not habituated to humans, they did not hang around; but that is a story for another day. As the first rays of sunlight reached the water I was in position.

Song birds flitted among the willows, a Great Blue Heron winged by, a Wood Duck passed over landing some distance away, soon a Bull Frog surfaced nearby with just his head and eyes protruding above the surface and then I noticed the leaves shaking on a branch overhanging the water.

A glance through the binoculars revealed a Green Heron standing on the limb. After cautiously moving the tripod into position I waited for the Heron to reveal itself.

The little Heron was feeding in a manner which I had never observed before. Instead of wading along the shoreline in search of prey as Herons commonly do, this Heron was walking back and forth on the overhanging branch and spearing its breakfast from its elevated perch.

For more Camera Critters visit Misty at her Camera Critters blog.