Great Egret V. American Eel

This is the photo series I had alluded to in Bill Stices post. I made several mistakes while photographing this series (most notably, not shooting enough pictures), but I was so fascinated that I wanted to watch it unfold - and not just through the eyepiece. I also was shooting from my car window which gave me limitations - and when the bird flew off to a further distance, it's because it was spooked when I tried going around my car for a clutter free shot. What was really interesting about this was there was a snowy egret in the vicinity who kept trying to move in and take his/her shot when the Great Egret would drop the eel - but he quickly realized he/she was not up to the task. I wasn't able to see if the Egret swallowed it in the end - but the eel had been stabbed so many times I can't imagine it got away.

In Flight

Eel still fighting

Wow, amazing that they take such large prey.

Peter

I can imagine this bird after swallowing the eel Luke - one end of the eel digesting in the stomach while the other end is still sticking out of the mouth :-) I'm surprised that it could even fly with the prey. Very interesting.

Luke,

Still am amazed at this.

Luke, an outstanding series. I am always truly amazed at nature.

The power of nature. Very interesting series.