I’ve photographed cormorants attempting this trick, but have never witnessed a heron attempting to subdue and swallow an eel. This was a chance encounter, at Seven Sisters early this morning.
It was – as it seems to be every day at the moment – overcast. I’d noticed the heron out of the corner of my eye as it landed on the meadow on the far side of the inlet. At first I thought it was pecking at a stick, but then looked closer.
The heron had caught an eel and was attempting to subdue and swallow it. What follows took place over about 10 minutes. The eel put up a good fight. Several times it had been all but swallowed before wriggling free. The heron dropped it several times, and the struggle would start again. The outcome was inevitable as the heron had sensibly brought the eel on to dry land.
Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D Mark II and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens.
Robin
13 Feb 2015Words, Wow, great series! That’s certainly a mouthful! I can imaging that eel in the last shot still wiggling around down there!
Words
16 Feb 2015Robin, the heron eventually walked very gingerly to the water’s edge for a drink. It was fascinating to watch, though only one outcome was possible.
Colin
14 Feb 2015That’s quite something. Make’s me feel queasy thinking of all the wriggling going on inside that heron!
Words
16 Feb 2015Colin, not too queasy I hope!
Darko
14 Feb 2015Hahaha, what a nice catch – for both of you and heron 😀 This reminded me on a gull in Vancouver’s Stanely Park who tried (and succeeded) to swallow a starfish
https://gdare.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/walk-in-stanley-park/
And on something that happened few days ago
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/seal-wrestles-octopus-in-rarely-captured-scene-in-b-c-waters-1.2952020
Both prey and hunter never seem to give up 🙂
Words
16 Feb 2015Darko, I like your starfish shots, and the young one trying to do the same. It’s amazing what they can swallow. The video footage of the seal and the octopus is great. Thanks for that link.
Kyle
18 Feb 2015Amazing capture! Wow that looks like a huge eel putting up some fight with the heron here! In the end the heron really prevailed and managed to gulp that entire thing and alive too?! I wonder if the poor eel stood any chance of escaping the hungry birds stomach if eaten I that condition or how even a bird can digest (if possible) something entirely? It must be a grim fate for the prey but the bird must have been hungry!
Words
18 Feb 2015Kyle, with a heron there’s plenty of neck room to swallow it! In water I suspect the eel would have escaped. It had no chance on dry land, despite escaping a couple of times. Gulls can manage it as well, which is even more surprising.
Kyle
18 Feb 2015Sorry this is the correct email to reply as well 😉
Kyle
20 Feb 2015Oops I guess my comment didn’t post here it is again..
Amazing capture here! That looks like a huge eel putting up some struggle here! So the heron managed to gulp it down and it was desperately wriggling about the whole way down that long neck?? I wonder how the bird manages to digest that whole thing or if the unlucky eel stand any chance of escaping the hungry birds stomach at that point?! Keep it up! 😉
Words
20 Feb 2015Don’t think it can escape once actually swallowed. I watched the heron for several more minutes, until it eventually flew off.