On Friday morning’s walk in the park, I walked right up on a heron in the pond, so I grabbed the camera to take a picture and then I noticed that he had something in his beak. I couldn’t tell what at the time so I snapped away. Later, when looking over my pictures, I discovered that it was a big crawfish. The more sophisticated types call them crayfish, but people look at you funny if you say that around here. They aren’t fish anyway and one of their other nicknames, mudbug, is probably more accurate. The crawfish looked as though he had suffered some of combat damage in his fight with the heron.
I slowly moved up the path a little to try to get him in some different light. He seemed wary of me and looked ready to spring but I did manage to get a few of him with the water for a background.
The crawfish seemed pretty large for him so I wondered if he just couldn’t fly away with the thing in his mouth. But, soon my question was answered as he took off and flew to the other side of the pond. Forgive the slightly blurry photo below as I wasn’t really set up to shoot a bird in flight. I am usually configured for single-point auto-focus with a single servo as I usually shoot stationary objects, but I managed to catch him almost in focus this way.
With that wingspan, he didn’t seem to have any problem flying his meal across the pond, where he was actually in full morning sunlight. I managed to get one more shot off before some joggers came along and sent him flying again.
I hope he enjoyed his fresh crawfish for breakfast. A lot of folks around here would love to have the same thing. It’s nice to have all of this wildlife in my own neighborhood to go shoot.
Jason Frels 
Wow, that’s a big crawfish. Or crawdaddy. Or freshwater lobster.
I suppose you were able to walk up on that bird because it was hard of heron. Pretty cool to see nature in action, like that.
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Yes, an egretable experience.
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If I hadn’t seen the photos, this story would have been hard to swallow.
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It would definitely be something to pond-er.
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Shore would.
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I am thinking of how that helmet that you are making would serve its purpose a lot better if I actually had it!
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Great action shots!
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You have such a gift, brother. I’d still be fumbling with my camera right now!
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There are a couple of programmable function settings on my camera. I have these set up a certain way and I just rotate the dial to one of these function settings and the camera is ready to go.
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Herons are great birds. I like all the shots, but especially the last one with its reflection in the water.
Poor crawlfish!
My kids used to have fun catching them in the creek, when visiting my husband’s Aunt.
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We messed around with a lot of crawfish and turtles and such when I was a kid.
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Turtles? So perhaps you saw some of Myrtle’s family? 🙂
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I see them every day. This place is lousy with turtles.
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Well where are the pictures? Myrtle is famous and you aren’t showing any pictures of her family?
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They usually hide in the water with just their nose sticking out
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Sounds like you need an underwater camera. 🙂
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That’s one big crawfish. Not sure I’ve ever seen such a large one.
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Much bigger and he’d be a lobster I suppose.
I see some pretty good size crawfish mounds around the ponds, so we seem to have plenty of them.
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Yup, I got a lobstery impression.
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That is a good-sized meal. Nothing like having to battle your food before you can partake.
I occasionally see Heron’s here, around our river. I haven’t seen one this year, tho…
Nice shots!
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The wingspan BIF is beautifully captured ! it’s an unique experience to see the Heron capture the crawfish too 🙂
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Thanks
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