A Dutch Heron: sushi for Breakfast!

I had the good fortune to be in Amsterdam for the huge Holland/Uruguay 2010 World Cup Semi-Final. The next morning I went out for breakfast at a local brasserie in the Albert Cuyp Market. I walked through the nearby Sarphatipark and was thrilled to see the variety of birds! I wish I had more time to stay and shoot pictures.

The lucky shots I managed to capture: a hungry Gray Heron catching his breakfast. Looks like a nice sized trout! (ID please any fish experts here?)
I was surprised at the size of the fish, both for the location and the size of the ponds in the park AND how this heron would manage to swallow such a fish.

The heron skewered the trout though its spine and would not let go. The bird gingerly waded around and tried to maneuver the fish around to get it in its mouth head first. Finally the heron carried the trout to the embankment and threw it up in the dirt. After rinsing its mouth, the heron picked up the fish and ate it. Unfortunately for me, the ability to get shots of the bird eating the fish were blocked by the overhanging willow tree and the bamboo plants growing up from the water's edge. It was a great experience to witness. I'll be sure to go back to the park for more bird pictures. The park has three ponds and a small duck/lily pond.

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That's a pretty large fish! Nice captures Brian. Wish I could see some of this action. No water here!

Weren't you lucky to be here on semi-finals day! Sunday is the REALLY BIG day. In the mean time the entire country has gone mental and we sort of live in an orange world now... Anyway, glad to see that you had such a good time at Sarphatipark. Quite a nice little park, isn't it? Amazing though that your heron in the end managed to get that down! Well captured, Brian.

Well that's cool! I go out for breakfast and take a walk and never see anything like that.

Gator Stealth wrote in post #10505014
Well that's cool! I go out for breakfast and take a walk and never see anything like that.

The early bird catches the.....trout!?

I was lucky enough to be in the right place/right time. This city park has three separate ponds and each pond had a heron. Goes to show the territorial nature of these birds. I was surprised at the size and type of fish that the heron snatched from the waters of the pond. I'm guessing that the pond is stocked? Maybe Levina knows if the local park authority stocks the ponds?

I'll be sure to return to the park the next time I am in Amsterdam. The bird activity was great!

Thanks Phil!

ajosteve wrote in post #10503670
That's a pretty large fish! Nice captures Brian. Wish I could see some of this action. No water here!

Thanks Steve! It was very cool to watch the heron catch this fish then make several attempts to eat it. The bird was smart and took the fish to dry land and polished him off! Rinsed his mouth out of dirt and sand was went back in the water for seconds!

Levina de Ruijter wrote in post #10504913
Weren't you lucky to be here on semi-finals day! Sunday is the REALLY BIG day. In the mean time the entire country has gone mental and we sort of live in an orange world now... Anyway, glad to see that you had such a good time at Sarphatipark. Quite a nice little park, isn't it? Amazing though that your heron in the end managed to get that down! Well captured, Brian.

Thanks Levina! Your Amsterdam suggestions are very well appreciated! Local knowledge always helps.

I was lucky to have witnessed the big Semi-Final too! I should post some of my crowd and crowd excitement shots in the Sports portion of the forum! Best of luck on Sunday. I'll be watching the match in Ireland. Go Orange!!!

Hate to break it to ya, but I don't think it's a trout. Do you have a larger photo? My original inclination is a fall fish or a chub.

Nice captures!!!

Nice shots