The local gulls really don't like having a resident heron on the pond. I watched this morning as multiple gulls swooped and mobbed a heron who was simply minding its own business perched on the 'No Fishing' sign.
The heron put up with this treatment for several minutes, calling and ducking, before eventually slipping away to the dense cover at the edge of the pond. The gulls won't shift this bird, and I expect that they will eventually get used to its presence.
Later in the day I came across more herons, in a different location. These are I think my first photos of a heron in flight with a fish in its bill. Ok, you need a magnifying glass to see the fish, but it is is there. Really. 
Finally, as a bit of wildlife record-keeping, here's my first photo this year of a swift. That means all three of the small aerial acrobats (swallows, house martins and swifts) have arrived from their winter migrations. The skies will be busy from now on. 
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.
gdare
3 May 2012Only small fish today :awww: No wonder that gull is bullying him :irked:
derWandersmann
3 May 2012Good ones, words!
I'm always glad to have the ærial acrobats around … they keep the bugs in check.
SittingFox
4 May 2012What a tiny little morsel for an enormous and hungry bird!
Words
5 May 2012Darko, it seems an awful lot of work to fly off with a single tiny fish, even if there are young mouths to feed!
Words
5 May 2012dW, swifts are amazing, and the number of insects they consume is utterly unbelievable. Good to see them about, but they can be a right pain to photograph since they never stop flying!
Words
5 May 2012Erwin, thanks!
Words
5 May 2012Adele, it really doesn't seem worth the effort to carry off a fish that size.
derWandersmann
6 May 2012Cedar waxwings are the ones that bedevil me, trying to get a shot. They fly VERY fast, and are unpredictable (they're chasing insects that I can't see), and … well I'm glad I'm not using film … empty frames are so disheartening.
I haven't noticed them here, but in Chicago, I would notice the time for the "changing of the guard" … the nighthawks would take over the territory during the hours of darkness. The night hawks had regular routes, and a certain points of their flight, they would call out, and one of those points was right over my bedroom window … it was rather comforting to wake up and hear the nighthawk on his rounds.
Words
7 May 2012Nice story about the nighthawk. We have nightjars near here, but none of them come close to where I am.
Wulpen
19 Oct 2012Beautiful shots…