Click on the Great Blue Heron Feeding image to enlarge

Great Blue Heron Feeding

The Great Blue Heron Feeding photograph captures some of the feeding habits of this large wading bird. Great Blue Heron Feeding is taken along the shore of Bodega Bay.

The Great Blue Heron will feed on small fish. Amphibians such as frogs, insects, shellfish, rodents, small birds and reptiles are also eaten when feeding. Great Blue Heron Feeding captures an image of this large bird capturing a small fish. This is the normal prey that these birds feed on along the shores of Bodega Bay California.

This Great Blue Heron Feeding on prey used a common technique these large birds use to catch prey. The Great Blue Heron Feeding will stand motionless, with the neck extended at an angle of about 45 degrees to the surface of the water. Only the eyes and head of the bird move to find their prey. If they cannot locate prey they will gradually move to another location a short distance away and perform the same maneuver. When the Great Blue Heron Feeding locates a potential prey the bird will slowly fold the neck back and move one leg in the direction of the prey. Then quickly the entire body will unbend and it will plunge their head into the water. The Great Blue Heron Feeding will catch the prey in the birds long bill. The Great Blue Heron Feeding will swallow the prey out of the water. The bird will often quickly move its head to drop the prey into its gullet.

It is common to see a Great Blue Heron Feeding along the shores of Bodega Bay California. For a wildlife photographer it is a challenge to capture images of these large wading birds feeding. Patience and timing are key in capturing images of a Great Blue Heron Feeding. But with persistence and staying power great images of a Great Blue Heron Feeding can be made, along with appreciating this unique behavior of this large wading bird.