Jan. 18, 2015 - Florida Birds and their food - Part 3

Here’s the third set of photos from my Florida trip showing birds catching and eating their prey. This Osprey was half finished with its fish dinner when I found it perched on a dead tree in Ding Darling NWR located on Sanibel Island, Florida.

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I was standing along the wildlife drive at Ding Darling NWR when this Great Egret flew toward me with a very large fish in its mouth.

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The Egret landed right in front of me and proceeded to maneuver the fish into a “head first” position. Then the Egret tilted its head back and the fish slipped right down its throat.

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This is the most amazing feeding experience I saw on our Florida trip. We were at Blind Pass, which is the link between Sanibel Island and Captiva Island. This Great Blue Heron found a dead fish along the shore and picked it up. Great Blue Herons are big birds with long bills. However, this fish is twice as long as the bird’s bill.

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The heron carried the fish down the shore. I turned away for a moment and when I turned back, that huge fish was on its way down the heron’s throat.

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The fish is in the heron’s throat; looks like it won’t be bending its neck for a while!

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