Wild Morning at the Lagoon

Friday Nov. 14, 2014

Yes, it does rain in southern California and it did last night. Finally we got a little bit of rain but by 8:00am the clouds were already starting to clear and the sun was peeking out as a feeling of anxiousness came over me. It was time to get going and get to the Lagoon.

The gate was still closed when I arrived at about 8:30am but plenty of parking available on Manchester Ave. There was a little chill in the air and you could feel the change in the season that sometimes can occur overnight. I knew things were going to be exciting today as soon as I saw the Great Blue Heron on the nearby bank across from the first lookout deck as you pass the visitor center. Here he is relaxing in the morning sun.

Took a few more shots of the GBH and waited for him to fly but he ignored my plea. I walked down to the south end to talk to the one of our local photographers hoping to hear some updates on what's new this morning at the lagoon. As I approached the south end I noticed a male Pintail that was dabbling all alone. This is the first close-up of a Northern Pintail for this year!

Northern Pintail measures 21 inches long with a wing span of 34 inches. These dabbling ducks are one of the most elegant of all the ducks.

  

Walking up to my friend and local photographer Al, I asked if he had any good shots so far and he said that yes, he had gotten a large amount of the Great Blue Heron flying back and forth over the channel acting more like a Snowy Egret following an Eared Grebe around. He said that he also got a few nice shots of the Eared Grebe when he was by the bridge. I saw the Grebe but it was swimming north and too far for me to get a good shot. As Al and I discussed the GBH and his odd behavior of following the Eared Grebe, we both half jokingly wondered if the GBH was after the fish that the Grebe was stirring up or was it after the Grebe?

Al had to get going since he had come out very early today. I laughed and said I would be glad to take the next shift. I stood at the south end looking for subjects to shoot when the Osprey few to the tall snag by the boardwalk. I decided that if he was going to hunt his fish from the snag, it would be best to stay at the south end and wait for him to make his move. Within minutes, he was mobbed by a bunch of crows and decided to leave the area coming straight at me as I aimed my camera in his direction and he disappeared towards the ocean. (*see my blog post "California Corbina a Mighty Tasty Treat") Wow, what a great way to start the day!

Wondering what the Great Blue Heron was doing, I decided to head back towards the first observation deck when a man with a giant English Sheepdog came up to me and told me I should be at the north end taking photos of the Great Blue Heron because he just caught a huge fish and was trying to swallow it! I hurried down to the first observation deck and found the GBH right across the channel and yes, it did have a large prey... but it was not a fish... it was the Eared Grebe!!!

This was a "déjà vu" moment... I have seen this played out on Rios "the wild side" of the lagoon before, but to see it all happening with the same type of prey was a little unnerving. As I took shots and observed this huge bird, the Great Blue Heron, trying to eat a bird just too big for him to swallow, a lot of questions came to my mind. Is this a way of eliminating the GBH's competition? Does the GBH feel the Grebe was eating his fish? Or was it just pure opportunistic hunt... an easy target.  

Close up of the Prey and Predator. The Great Blue Heron has a dagger like beak that is deadly to his prey. It can strike with lightning speed and with amazing accuracy. The Heron uses his bill to capture, stab, and kill his prey but his bill is not designed to rip a prey apart as a raptor. A Hawk can use its beak to rip open its prey, tear it apart with no problem, but a Great Blue Heron must swallow his prey whole.

  

If the GBH could consume a prey this large, he wouldn't have to eat for a day or so. But there have been incidents documented where a GBH has swallowed a prey too big and choked to death. He doesn't want to give up quite yet. More attempts are made to swallow. While observing the GBH, a little Black-necked stilt catches my attention. The Stilt had flown in and starts to wonder over to the area where the GBH is busy with his prey.

The GBH did his best to swallow his prey. Another local photographer, Nick Paoni came by and watched from the observation deck, feeling optimistic that the GBH would finish his prey and swallow it. I told him I didn't think he could. I saw a GBH try to swallow a Eared Grebe last month and did not succeed. The heron changes position as he tries his best to consume his prey but still fails to do so.

This was the one moment that  we all thought he was really going to finally swallow the grebe but could not get the prey further down his throat and eventually dropped the grebe back in the water manipulating it once again for a better angle to grab and swallow.

The Black-neck Stilt stands and watches the GBH trying to consume his prey but soon inches closer to the heron.

The heron is focused on getting his prey swallowed. You can see the heron's tongue sticking out just below the prey item. Because his airpipe opening is located at the base of his tongue which is almost half way down his beak, he will still be able to breathe even when he is trying to stuff a large prey down his throat.

He turns every which way turning his head and angle of his neck but no amount of twisting and turning lets him swallow the grebe.

He drops it and takes a moments breather... regroups and repositions the prey and starts all over again.

The Black-neck Stilt is only about 10ft away from the GBH. He looks cautious but too curious to turn away.

The Stilt is now close enough to be in the same frame as the GBH. The Stilt stands and watches for a few moment and deciding he has seen enough or relieved that it was not his mate the heron was trying to consume, turns and flies away. (Thank goodness).

Determined to get the prey swallowed, the heron keeps dipping the grebe in water wanting it to be slippery for easier consuming but this is surely a case of his eyes being bigger than the opening of his mouth. The eagerness in his eyes turns to frustration.

Another big grab and he is just standing there moving his head from side to side. Just can't get that grebe past his throat opening.

  

This angle really shows how round the grebe is and as hard as the Great Blue Heron is trying to swallow it, it is looking like this mission is impossible.

More dipping the prey in the water but the result is still the same. He is starting to get exhausted. One more big try but the grebe still won't get past his throat opening.

He doesn't want to give up on this big meal. It all comes down to survival. This prey offers him a huge protein packed meal that he wants desperately... if he can only swallow it.

This drama of trying to swallow the prey went on quite a while and the crowd was starting to gather at the observation deck. Soon the GBH decided to carry his prey over further from prying eyes and it was time for me to move on to other subjects.

Leaving the GBH to try and finish his meal, I walked around the lagoon for one last look at the south end. Finding nothing new, I came back to the observation deck where I saw the heron had given up on his prey and let it drift in the tide channel to be carried out by the tide.

I shook my head as I greeted my photographer friend Nick, mentioning that it seemed like such a waste for the heron to kill the Grebe and not be able to eat it. He said "it was not a waste... that nothing in the lagoon/nature goes to waste. It all gets consumed by something". Yes, nature does have a wonderful way of recycling. I agreed... it is all about survival and they all need to eat. It was time for me to go and as I started to walk towards the visitor center I spot the Osprey with a huge fish! What a wild morning it has been at the lagoon!

Hope your weekend is a good one!