Retro Post: Great Blue Heron and the "Danger Zone"

We are finally having lots of rainfall here in Southern California.  But with too much rain all at once, there are problems in some places with mudslides and flooding. Since I am staying home until the weather clears, I am posting another "blast from the past" e-mail.

Retro-post from:
August 17, 2014

San Elijo Lagoon has become a hot spot for photographers that love watching the young juvenile California Clapper Rails scurry along the shoreline and even fly back and forth at the south end of the nature trail. Clappers have been observed fighting with each other and on rare occasions we have witnessed other bird species aggressively chasing these juvenile Clapper Rails away. But what I observed today was quite shocking. I watched in disbelief at what happened when a juvenile California Clapper Rail ventured into the "danger zone" of the Great Blue Heron...

Last week another photographer and I observed a juvenile California Clapper Rail running away from a Great Blue Heron.  At that time we both thought that the Great Blue Heron was patiently waiting to surprise a rat or vole in the pickle weeds and the curious juvenile Rail had wandered into the Great Blue Heron's strike zone, spoiling its hunt and in turn causing the GBH to angrily chase the Clapper Rail from his hunting grounds.

But what was odd was that the GBH did not just scare the Clapper away with a wing flap but actually chased it to the edge of the bank watching the Juvenile Clapper run/fly away from the area. Safe and away out of the GBH's "danger zone"!  A good life lesson for this juvenile Clapper Rail... stay away from the Great Blue Heron!  Great Blue Heron measures 46 inches long and has a wing span of 72 inches. They are very large and sturdy birds.

The Great Blue Heron is a excellent hunter and will spear anything that it thinks it can swallow. This huge bird has a very long reach, at least the length of its body.  When it decides to strike and kill/capture a prey, the neck coils back like a snake and as it targets its prey with the sword-like beak, it strikes out lightning fast and so violent that I have seen the bill go straight through a huge fish, piercing it as well as any bow hunter's arrow.

Today, around noon, the Great Blue Heron was on the far side of the tide channel on the south end of the lagoon in the middle of the pickleweeds. He has been in one spot for about a 1/2 hour waiting for something to move in the pickleweeds... maybe a rat? Since he was too far away for good shots, I was ready to find another subject to photograph. But all of a sudden the GBH strikes out directly in front of him! I see a dark form with wings trying to fly out of the Heron's strike zone but the Great Blue takes a quick stride and strikes again... he has captured a thrashing juvenile California Clapper Rail!

The Clapper Rail puts up a valiant struggle... striking out with his foot... but the Heron clamps down with his powerful beak.

Thrashing with wings flapping, the California Clapper Rail struggles to get free but without success.

The Clapper Rail keeps kicking out but only strikes the long guard feathers on the Heron's chest.

The GBH has a death grip on the Clapper Rail's neck. He may have his beak clear through the neck of the Rail..

GBH puts the clapper down but strikes at it repeatedly and grabs it again by the neck with its powerful beak. The Heron's beak is now used as a forceps with a vice-like grip.

The California Clapper Rail keeps struggling... thrashing and kicking out with its legs.

The Rail flaps his wings a few more times but the Heron just grips tighter.

Again the Heron drops his prey to attack it repeatedly... the less fight from the prey, the less likely for a injury to the Heron.

GBH picks up the Clapper to see if there is any more fight left...

The Clapper Rail comes alert and struggles again.

Again the GBH drops the Clapper and strikes his prey until there appears to be no more struggling by the Clapper Rail.

Again, the GBH lifts the prey to see if it has any fight left...

  

The Clapper appears limp... the fight is over...

The Great Blue Heron carries its prey to the water and goes further away from my camera making it more difficult to see.  I wish I could have been closer. I'm shooting right into the sunlight with lots of heat distortion in the photos, too...

Dipping it in water (maybe it's easier for swallowing), the GBH positions its prey for swallowing. The Heron starts to consume. Watching a heron swallow its prey is much like watching a big snake swallow its prey.

He appears to be swallowing his prey shoulder first... looks like the head of the clapper is still visible at the side of the Heron's beak opening...

  

Only the legs and beak of the Clapper Rail are still visible...

He moves the prey further down the hatch...

His neck muscles working to get the prey swallowed.

It's down the throat... moving down towards its crop.

Some neck movement... and the prey is consumed.

The Great Blue Heron takes a few sips of water and rests to digest his meal.... an amazing observation of this fascinating bird. Even a large juvenile Clapper Rail is not safe if he enters into the "Danger Zone" of the Great Blue Heron!!

Be sure to avoid the "danger zone" and have a peaceful day.