Post Your Herons, Egrets and Bitterns

Yellow- crowned Night Heron

Very nice. I really like the heron shot.

joemusic321 wrote in post #17971028
Very nice. I really like the heron shot.

Thank you

Green Heron

Grey Heron

Green Heron

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/FTmt​SL

I have been to the local wetlands twice in the last two days, Saturday and today. Both days I saw a great blue heron eating a water snake in different locations. They're cleaning out the snakes!!!

First one from Saturday, including a photo of the dad trying to eat the snake in the nest with the chicks, which they wouldn't let him, he had to fly off and eat by himself, even though the chicks followed him!!

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/FVSD​49

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/FqwX​dd

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/GmEQ​Gj

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/Gg9x​yr

edmidlifecrisis wrote in post #17976681
I have been to the local wetlands twice in the last two days, Saturday and today. Both days I saw a great blue heron eating a water snake in different locations. They're cleaning out the snakes!!!

First one from Saturday, including a photo of the dad trying to eat the snake in the nest with the chicks, which they wouldn't let him, he had to fly off and eat by himself, even though the chicks followed him!!

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/FVSD​49 gbh20160416-4108 by Ed Spenser, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/FqwX​dd gbh20160416-4124 by Ed Spenser, on Flickr

This was from today, no chicks involved

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/GmEQ​Gj gbh20160418-0361 by Ed Spenser, on Flickr

Lastly, some gbh chicks from another nest, been following these and watching them grow

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/Gg9x​yr gbh20160416-4021 by Ed Spenser, on Flickr

and

And...

Great stuff, Ed!

How do they know the nonpoisonous snakes from the venomous ones?

Archibald wrote in post #17976741
And...

Great stuff, Ed!

How do they know the nonpoisonous snakes from the venomous ones?

I don't know. The "and" was a poor edit, should have been removed.

Thanks

Archibald wrote in post #17976741
And...

Great stuff, Ed!

How do they know the nonpoisonous snakes from the venomous ones?

I've often wondered the same.
Correct me if I'm wrong (as I'm sure someone will ) but I think there is a difference between "venom" & "poison". In order for venom to be effective it has to be injected into the bloodstream... poison works if it's ingested so unless the bird is bitten, I think he can eat a venomous snake as long as the snake is dead or poses no threat to bite the bird.

Nice shootin' by the way !

Well the bufo frogs cause severe illness if ingested as the poison is on the skin (they are all over S Florida and dogs seem to like messing with them). A snake like a rattler can still envenomate for a while after it is dead if you make contact with the fangs (I learned this from an old friend who was a herpetologist and field researcher, who spent a good part of his life collecting rattlers in the desert), so I wonder about that when I see these videos of roadrunners eating them-they seem to be able to digest the critters. Of course carrion eaters have some sort of digestive protection against all the rather nasty bacteria that are found in dead animals, so they at least have a protective mechanism against those types of toxins. Maybe these birds do, too. There are certainly both types of snakes in the swamps here in Florida.

itw wrote in post #17976762
I've often wondered the same.
Correct me if I'm wrong (as I'm sure someone will ) but I think there is a difference between "venom" & "poison". In order for venom to be effective it has to be injected into the bloodstream... poison works if it's ingested so unless the bird is bitten, I think he can eat a venomous snake as long as the snake is dead or poses no threat to bite the bird.

Nice shootin' by the way !

You have it. Venom needs to be injected. If it's swallowed it'll be digested along with everything else.

Awesome series Ed.

Peter2516 wrote in post #17977709
Awesome series Ed.

+ 1 Ed