Little Heron fishing for dinner...

tsechien · 10th April 2006

Part 1

A series on a feeding Little Heron (Butorides striatus) near Kg Sg Pinang, Penang. I stumbled on this guy as I was driving along a canal dirt track so I pulled alongside, killed the engine, downed my window and strutted out my birding combo and stuck it out of the window sill......and waited.

It was obvious even from my car that there were shoals of small fish swimming in front of him (numerous small splashes). Our hunter stood perfectly still - even the fish did not know that there were inches away from a predator.

The Little Heron then compressed his neck into an S shape (like a loaded spring ready to POING!!!). At the precisely right moment, he released the trigger and the neck lunged forward with lightning speed! A fish that just came too near to the surface and attracted too much attention became his catch.

A fairly sizable one too, as he had a little difficulty in managing it. He had to grasp it with it's sharp beak, flick it around (without letting it slip away) and move it towards the inside and then GULP it down lock stock & barrel!

For a moment there, I thought that he had bitten off more than what he could chew!

D200/MB-D200, AFS VR300mm f2.8 with TC20EII.

Looking intently at the water for a victim

GOT IT!!!

Uh-Oh!!

Better be careful not to let it get away!

chien

tsechien · 10th April 2006

Part 2

Going....

Going.....

GULP!! Gone!

chien

MountainMan · 11th April 2006

Good series Chien. Thanks for sharing. Your subject is abit dark though. May wanna consider tweeking the H&S on Photoshop to get a better exposure.

MM

10th April 2006	#1
tsechien New Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Penang, Malaysia Posts: 10	Little Heron fishing for dinner... Part 1 A series on a feeding Little Heron (Butorides striatus) near Kg Sg Pinang, Penang. I stumbled on this guy as I was driving along a canal dirt track so I pulled alongside, killed the engine, downed my window and strutted out my birding combo and stuck it out of the window sill......and waited. It was obvious even from my car that there were shoals of small fish swimming in front of him (numerous small splashes). Our hunter stood perfectly still - even the fish did not know that there were inches away from a predator. The Little Heron then compressed his neck into an S shape (like a loaded spring ready to POING!!!). At the precisely right moment, he released the trigger and the neck lunged forward with lightning speed! A fish that just came too near to the surface and attracted too much attention became his catch. A fairly sizable one too, as he had a little difficulty in managing it. He had to grasp it with it's sharp beak, flick it around (without letting it slip away) and move it towards the inside and then GULP it down lock stock & barrel! For a moment there, I thought that he had bitten off more than what he could chew! D200/MB-D200, AFS VR300mm f2.8 with TC20EII. Looking intently at the water for a victim GOT IT!!! Uh-Oh!! Better be careful not to let it get away! chien

10th April 2006	#2
tsechien New Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Penang, Malaysia Posts: 10	Re: Little Heron fishing for dinner... Part 2 Going.... Going..... GULP!! Gone! chien

11th April 2006	#3
MountainMan Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Planet Earth Posts: 434	Re: Little Heron fishing for dinner... Good series Chien. Thanks for sharing. Your subject is abit dark though. May wanna consider tweeking the H&S on Photoshop to get a better exposure. MM