Posted on 01/29/2020 2:48:06 PM PST by nickcarraway
If you’ve ever wondered who would come out on top in a bird battle between a great blue heron and a red-tailed hawk (honestly, who hasn’t?), this short clip should put any doubts to rest.
Mike Benard @BenardMF Bird battle today (watch to end): heron hunting gophers in field. Catches a gopher with a powerful strike. A hawk screams. Heron drops gopher, flies into air pooping and screaming. Hawk lands, steals gopher, flies away. #MerryChristmas #TeamBird Santa Cruz County, CA.
1,183 7:34 PM - Dec 21, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 328 people are talking about this Mike Benard, an associate professor studying ecology & herpetology at Ohio’s Case Western Reserve University, shared a video last month of a great blue heron losing its gopher meal to a thieving red-tailed hawk.
Filmed in Santa Cruz County, California, the clip begins with a shot of a great blue heron doing what herons do best: skewering unsuspecting prey on their dagger-like beaks. Though we tend to think of great blue herons (Ardea herodias) as fishing specialists, the birds will gladly impale any available prey with those sizeable stabbers. This one locked in on a gopher, and the rodent barely stood a chance. After snatching its quarry, the heron got to work subduing the flailing prey.
Standing at over a metre (more than three feet), great blue herons are the largest herons in North America and have an exceptionally wide range, stretching throughout Mexico, the United States and large portions of Canada. Their expansive territory has helped them to develop a knack for catching just about any prey they can cram down their throats.
This predator, however, was not expecting a rival hunter. Red-tailed hawks are renowned survivalists and famously unfussy eaters. A freshly speared gopher is an easy meal too tempting to pass up. After announcing its presence with a shrill shriek, the hawk swooped in to claim the meal. Despite its size advantage, the heron chose to flee, leaving a spray of guano as it fluttered away. The hawk quickly flew off with a fresh meal clutched in its talons.
Spare a thought for the gopher who was having a particularly tough day.
Poor gopher.
Nope poor Heron,it did all the work
And that is the way the world works.
I’ve witnessed herons eat just about anything, including other (smaller) birds and turtles. They come out on the winning end of the stick on some of these predator vs. predator dramas, too. I was at a lake here in Arizona and saw an Osprey expertly catch a trout. Right away, an eagle rushed him in mid-air and caused him to drop the fish. Before it hit the water, a heron swooped in and grabbed it and flew off. The whole thing took less than two minutes.
The evolution will not be televised
Gil Scott Great Blue Heron
Heron says “I think I’ll have the fish instead”
Great Blue Herons are very skittish.
I got withim 8 feet today.
:( Gophers remind me of Democrats.
And it's too bad, Can't get me none of that
I’ve gotten close on windy days, with cover. It’s all I can do to keep some of them away from my stringer at the local park.
I have a resident blue heron that lives here. He is great to watch. Most people don’t know that herons and egrets can swim. I certainly didn’t. I’ve seen it a few times and it is shocking, each time. They swim very well and look like swans when they swim.
I have a resident blue heron that lives here. He is great to watch. Most people don’t know that herons and egrets can swim. I certainly didn’t. I’ve seen it a few times and it is shocking, each time. They swim very well and look like swans when they swim.
We have one on our pond. Can’t get within 50 yards or more before it takes off.
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