When I was a youth, we were feeding the ducks at a pond. One of these herons was there. Never having seen one before, we tossed it some bread. The heron picked up the bread and put it in the water. Using the bread as bait, it caught six fish, the sixth being too big for it to swallow. It readjusted the bread between every fish to keep it in just the right spot.
I saw one do that with a big beef rib it took from the garbage. It ran the bone with some meat on it to the water and dropped it in and then waited watching over it. These birds are very clever.
The first time I saw a heron I was a child. I was out in the woods exploring a stream and stumbled upon a blue heron. It was taller than I was. I didn't even know they existed at the time, so it was a surprise to see such a large bird up close.
Spectacular! National Geo just gets its money shot and goes home. Jim stays the course. Not sure I would want to be a bloated black-crowned night-heron, but I like watching one get there. This species and the yellow-crowned are so interesting in their patient, deliberate ways.
I remember a couple years ago I saw one grab a beef rib from the garbage and run it to the water and it dropped it for bait. It then watched it presumably waiting for a crawdad or small fish. I’ve been a fan of them ever since.
Great video.. what’s impressive is that this guy is about half the size of his bigger relatives the great egret and the great blue heron yet still tackled a rather large meal. Thanks for sharing..
Thanks. Most of my videos are Great Blue Herons and a few Great Egrets catching gophers. I watched night herons hunting them before this video but this guy was the first successful hunt I managed to see. It made my day (year really) that I was finally able to document it.
You got to admire the patience of the bird. Rip gopher. It's not easy out there, but in your own way you're helping preserve our wonderful ecosystem by keeping these birds and others fed b
There was a tree near to where I used to live and these guys roosted there. The white washed cars that parked under that tree were basically totaled IMO.
what sticks out to me in the way the bird eats is how similar it is to reptiles/snakes. like when a pelican swallows a duck in one gulp, it's not so obvious b/c its beak is gigantic. and raptors pick pieces off their prey. but this little guy looked like it had to disengage his jaw to get that gopher(?) into its gullet.
Amazing video! Smooth transitioning subtitles, no voice overs and no background music. I fully expected to forward the video and just watch the parts of catching and swallowing, but I ended up watching the whole thing.
Curious...all my years in Lakewood, this was the last thing I would think of ever seeing in the city. I don't who's the better stalker, the heron or you. Great video. Loved watching this bird move. His head was completely still while the rest of his body caught up to him.
Birds are dinosaurs. Just imagine how smart T rex and other predatory dinosaurs really were. They were likely as smart as ravens and herons and likely could use tactics such as baiting prey.
@@snappingbear no pal. It sounds like you didn’t finish grade school if you think birds are dinosaurs. That was a myth thoroughly discredited decades ago.
Yeah most of my videos are Great Blue Herons hunting. It has been a goal of mine to capture night herons catching gophers for a couple years because that was when I first saw one eat one but I only managed to video the swallowing of that gopher. I saw them hunting and that was cool but they weren’t successful.
Thanks. I used to love birds of prey and looked down at herons thinking they were boring and not very efficient hunters. I’ve certainly learned otherwise.
Wow. Impressive that it could swallow that critter whole like that. Also impressive to get the whole thing on camera considering the bird was flying around. Good job.
Yeah these herons are really talented in that regard. I’ve seen them hunting gophers when they sway left and right very much but keep their head still. Their tails and body are wagging back and forth yet their eyes are still. It’s a very strange effect.
Thank you so much 😀I drove to the local park about a mile away in this case. The bird was hunting in its usual place. It was there about three weeks hunting in a very small area near a parking lot. I brought my folding chair and set it up near the road so that the bird was in the best lighting. I then watched it looking for indications that it detected something. This bird was very easy to video. Most night herons I video are very nervous birds. This bird did not fear me. That made it much easier to adjust my position. I think the best secret to getting good videos is finding a bird that allows you to video it.
Thanks. Since I was filming it with a monopod and I was sitting on a small chair, it was difficult to pick up the camera and follow the bird even though I was anticipating it might fly.
It’s right next to drone helicopters, model airplanes, a gardener, a drilling rig installing a well, a road with people walking and cars driving, a shooting range etc. This bird doesn’t seem to mind a lot of noise.
Wow, I had no idea you are local. I pass by that area all the time through the San Gabriel River Bike Path. This area must've been next to El Dorado Park camping grounds.
Yeah this bird does frequent there. This video was taken in Area 3 which is north of Wardlow and very near the parking lot and the bike trail. I was actually running on the bike trail past there this morning about 4:30 am.
They are so good at that. I’ve seen them wiggle their entire body swaying back and forth and still keeping their head perfectly still. I found it interesting that this heron chose not to use the really exaggerated movements. I have seen other night herons do that when hunting gophers.
Yeah I agree. I probably have over a hundred videos of herons eating gophers and Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons nearly always use their dagger like bill. This night heron probably just doesn’t have enough weight to pull it off. They are probably a third of the weight of a great blue just throwing out a wild guesstimate.
Yeah I agree and the stakes are high. If they miss too many chances, they may not survive. I’ve seen this bird for at least 2 years and it is real bulky and strong so I think it takes advantage of its opportunities.
Man, I wouldn't have believed that a throat that small on the night heron could get that big of a meal down. The other thing I noticed is that the gopher is asphyxiated. Looked like a slow death. shiver me timbers. We all got to eat!
The footage you got was amaaaazing, thanks for sharing. It takes a lot of patience and focus to get that much on film... I'm in NorCal, and I vist McNears Beach several times a week. It's my second home ❤ There are several different species of Herons and Egrets, as well as geese and ducks. A wonderful variety Last Fall, though, I spotted one I'd never seen before. The (young) park rangers weren't even sure what it was. It was standing absolutely still at water's edge, like a statue I looked it up and I'm 99% sure it was a Night Heron. I guess up here they're a pretty rare sight, because as their name suggests, they only appear at dusk...?
AWESOME footage. It's wild how snake-like the bird is, moving it's head up, then holding it perfectly still, as it pulls its body forward, then the process repeats.
What did it do in the initial strike to incapacitate the gopher? Does it shake the prey in order to break its neck? It looks like it couldn't suffocate it. Nice catch by the way (of the heron's behaviour).
I think in this case this bird inadvertently pierced the gopher in the throat. It’s hard to see and I’m not sure but I did look at it multiple times and slowed way down. That is why I think the gopher was wiggling so much at the beginning. The bird then grabbed it by the neck and squeezed and shook it until it could be eaten.
When the heron let go of it, the gopher seemed to already be fatally wounded, but the snatch was so quick, I couldn't see what caused the injury. Did the bird stab it with its beak in the beginning?
Yeah I think it did. I think it was probably accidental because this bird usually grabs and chokes but it looked to me in a slowed version that it pierced the neck in a pretty vital spot.
This bird is about a mile from my house in El Dorado Park in Long Beach, California. I miss the “real” wilderness but I found that you can find wildlife in the local parks.
That heron probably flew into the tree because a nearby hawk likely would have tried to steal its prey. It was smart to conceal itself among the tree’s branches and foliage.
I have an abundance of squirrels, chipmunks and moles, sure could use one of these guys stopping by for a bite. The hawks and owls don't seem interested in them though. 🤷♀️
It was hunting again the next morning. When it eats a normal sized gopher, it will begin hunting again almost immediately, after just a few seconds. I seen it catch a gopher when it hadn’t finished swallowing the previous one.
@@melanies.6030if they are small or medium sized, I’m confident it could eat at least four. The really big ones would take longer between meals. I did see it hunting again the next day after the big meal. I think they can eat a lot in times of plenty.
@@melanies.6030thanks. I learned a lot watching these herons. Some of my older videos are of an old Great Blue Heron I called Greta. I learned so much from following that bird around. I also learned a lot from this night heron. I am happy to share what I can.
Thanks. I really really appreciate that. Although it is currently hunting in Area 3, I first saw this bird in 2021 near the wooden walk bridge by the Spring Street entrance.
@@jimzenor9148 I lived directly west of the LBP range. I loved hearing the rouinds going off. I participated in a car show outside the range... but stepped in some poop. LOL
You'll never look at birds the same way before...(Allan Grant: Somewhat as to the quote. I was sooo in love with him a 90s kid and still am ^.^ An otaku always)
@@jimzenor9148 His name is freddie. Early in his career he didnt play dead nearly as well as he did in this skit. He looked completely dead. Which is a skill he has mastered, looking forward to seeing him in future skits
I have read that they will regurgitate indigestible parts but I have only seen them regurgitate crayfish skeletons. I think they are very good at digesting most of it anyway.
How did the heron actually kill the gopher? Is the heron's bite force strong enough to break the gopher's neck? Or did the heron choke the gopher like a lion does to its prey? The heron didn't seem to hold the gopher long enough to do that?
@@NathanLGrossman this was the only time when it seemed this heron stabbed its prey, probably by accident IMO. It generally grabs and chokes but in this case right when it struck it seemed to get a lucky shot on the jugular. I looked at it frame by frame and to me that’s the best explanation for the bird immediately dropping the gopher and the gopher wiggling so much. I made 4 videos of this bird over a couple weeks and it was pretty consistent about grabbing and choking and shaking its prey.
It's not a direct kill, so it just hold the prey around the beak and making movement to let the beak cut and the prey will eventually die through bleeding, did I get it right?
When I was a youth, we were feeding the ducks at a pond. One of these herons was there. Never having seen one before, we tossed it some bread. The heron picked up the bread and put it in the water. Using the bread as bait, it caught six fish, the sixth being too big for it to swallow. It readjusted the bread between every fish to keep it in just the right spot.
I saw one do that with a big beef rib it took from the garbage. It ran the bone with some meat on it to the water and dropped it in and then waited watching over it. These birds are very clever.
@@jimzenor9148wow that’s crazy!
"Clever girl.."
Guess you didn't see it eating the ducklings of the ducks at the pond. That's what it loves to eat.
@@peterthx All I witnessed it eating was fish. I don't know why that fact seems to have disturbed you.
Pelicans watching from afar thinking to themselves: "Hmmm, I should try this on a Capybara!"
Now you know a pelican would eat a shih zhu if it could. 😂😂
Herons usually wipe out 80% of ducklings born in the nearby pond.
So... this is the video that inspired that pelican't...
Harsh but tbf ducklings do have very high mortality. They are bite sized.@@TellenJones
Just like watching a guy eat a Double Quarter Pounder without anything to drink. 😂
.....in one bite!
Stormy Daniels competition .
And with no fries!
And with no hands
Stop watching me eat pls. I’m quite self conscious
I’m glad these guys aren’t any bigger.
They’d be waiting for you to go out to the car on the way to work.
there were prehistoric creatures just like that. Look up Quetzalcoatlus. Basically a stork the size of a giraffe that could swallow a grown man whole.
I agree, the jurassic period is over.
Yeah because if they were and came after us. We’d extinct them.
There used to be Herons bigger than most men. They've been extinct since the Egyptian dynasty.
Birds make dinosaurs even more terrifying
Check out Quetzalcoatlus.
Birds are avian dinosaurs.
Dey'z iz Dinosauzerz!!!!
Those are literally dinosaurs 🤦🏼♀️
@@fubokuenPterosaurs are NOT dinosaurs
I didn’t know I’d be this enthralled watching a bird eat but here I am. Instant follow
Thanks. I like to follow these guys too😊
@@jimzenor9148I think he’s saying that he followed you
@@cloppinyeah I know. I was kidding. I follow the bird and he follows me following the bird. Bad joke.
@@jimzenor9148 It’s alright
That’s no gopher, it’s a mole rat queen from the wasteland!
This bird is what the grounds keeper in Caddyshack needed
Heron*
The gophers friend was watching him get eaten as he safely danced in the ground hole to “ I’m alriiight” 🎶
Lol!
😂😂😂
The comments never disappoint
The first time I saw a heron I was a child. I was out in the woods exploring a stream and stumbled upon a blue heron. It was taller than I was. I didn't even know they existed at the time, so it was a surprise to see such a large bird up close.
Taller than you??
Thier are quiet a few heron species that can grow pretty tall. They'd easily tower over young kids.
You are lucky, you survived to write about you experience.
Ever walk out into a Front Yard/Driveway with 20-30 or so wild Turkeys milling around?
I have. They ain't small.
I wonder what a Heron tastes like?
Heron in tree: "No, stop filming! You musn't see me like this!"
Bird: If I were big enough, I would eat you too cameraman
Spectacular! National Geo just gets its money shot and goes home. Jim stays the course. Not sure I would want to be a bloated black-crowned night-heron, but I like watching one get there.
This species and the yellow-crowned are so interesting in their patient, deliberate ways.
I remember a couple years ago I saw one grab a beef rib from the garbage and run it to the water and it dropped it for bait. It then watched it presumably waiting for a crawdad or small fish. I’ve been a fan of them ever since.
National Geographic photographers and videographers don't get as much control over what ends up in the cut as you may think.
One thing is for sure.. the heron never complains about hair in it's food.
As someone who owns a lawn, I approve of this video.
Lol
We are supposed to be team mammals, dude
Great video.. what’s impressive is that this guy is about half the size of his bigger relatives the great egret and the great blue heron yet still tackled a rather large meal. Thanks for sharing..
Thanks. Most of my videos are Great Blue Herons and a few Great Egrets catching gophers. I watched night herons hunting them before this video but this guy was the first successful hunt I managed to see. It made my day (year really) that I was finally able to document it.
You got to admire the patience of the bird. Rip gopher. It's not easy out there, but in your own way you're helping preserve our wonderful ecosystem by keeping these birds and others fed b
The moment you inadvertently step in a go for a whole, that feeling of empathy for gophers will change!
Amazing video quality.
Thanks. It really helps that this bird lets me position myself where I want to go.
Great capture and story telling. I learn so much from each video.
Thanks. This guy is a real interesting bird. I learned a lot watching it. It helps that it is super easy to video.
Red Tail Hawk: Mmm, stuffed heron!
Birds live from paycheck to paycheck and it can't get any better
Yep. They are just a couple missed meals from real peril.
He really made sure the gopher wasn’t just plying dead before he released his grip
Props, friend, great footage. Good to see the night-heron get its reward and the pocket gopher get its due!
that's gonna make for one impressive splat on some unfortunate windshield.
There was a tree near to where I used to live and these guys roosted there. The white washed cars that parked under that tree were basically totaled IMO.
@@jimzenor9148😂😂
Thank you for your time and efforts. Great video
My pleasure and thanks.
These things really are dinosaurs man.
Ufff sooo very dangerous the dinosaurs? Eh...
All birds are..
@@Omega-wi6fl That's what I mean.
what sticks out to me in the way the bird eats is how similar it is to reptiles/snakes. like when a pelican swallows a duck in one gulp, it's not so obvious b/c its beak is gigantic. and raptors pick pieces off their prey. but this little guy looked like it had to disengage his jaw to get that gopher(?) into its gullet.
Um, no … they’re birds.
Amazing video! Smooth transitioning subtitles, no voice overs and no background music.
I fully expected to forward the video and just watch the parts of catching and swallowing, but I ended up watching the whole thing.
Thank you very much! Yeah I find it easier and more informative to just show it as it happens as much as possible.
Title wasn't kidding!! Thanks for sharing as us in the UK don't see either this species of heron or Gophers.
I've seen a grey heron take a Coot in the UK.
Curious...all my years in Lakewood, this was the last thing I would think of ever seeing in the city. I don't who's the better stalker, the heron or you. Great video. Loved watching this bird move. His head was completely still while the rest of his body caught up to him.
Thanks. Honestly it was the heron. This heron was a joy to video because it was not afraid of me at all.
Heron became Russell Crowe in the movie gladiator
“are you not entertained”
Fascinating video! Thank you for sharing this.
My pleasure and you are very welcome. I am happy to share it.
I need these birds in my back lawn! Awesome footage.
Agreed. Chipmunks and moles.
@@jbonegwthe moles is more useful
You need car
Beautiful looking bird and great capture as always Jim.
Thanks. This bird is really a pleasure to watch. It is full of surprises.
Note how the Heron dispatched the gopher by strangulation.
Wow , what wonderful photography!!!!
Thanks so much. It really helps that this bird let me sit just where I wanted to and kept the sun (what little there was) to my back.
Birds are dinosaurs. Just imagine how smart T rex and other predatory dinosaurs really were. They were likely as smart as ravens and herons and likely could use tactics such as baiting prey.
Discredited myth.
@youknowmysteelo Nope, that birds ARE dinosaurs is a well established, rock solid fact.
@@snappingbear that dinosaurs even existed is still up for debate. You watch too many sci fi flicks and cartoons.
@youknowmysteelo So IOW you didn't finish grade school.
@@snappingbear no pal. It sounds like you didn’t finish grade school if you think birds are dinosaurs. That was a myth thoroughly discredited decades ago.
I've seen a great blue heron do this, but this guy looks quite a bit smaller. Amazing.
Yeah most of my videos are Great Blue Herons hunting. It has been a goal of mine to capture night herons catching gophers for a couple years because that was when I first saw one eat one but I only managed to video the swallowing of that gopher. I saw them hunting and that was cool but they weren’t successful.
Good meal...that last for a week. Lot of efforts in filming 🎥
A real wild life video. Thanks buddy. ❤.
Thanks and you are very welcome.
Spectacular footage. Love how it is totally uncut!
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it.
Huh. Now Im eyeing my parakeet suspiciously
That parakeet could do some damage to you
Very cool and amazing I love Herons!
Thanks. I used to love birds of prey and looked down at herons thinking they were boring and not very efficient hunters. I’ve certainly learned otherwise.
Wow. Impressive that it could swallow that critter whole like that. Also impressive to get the whole thing on camera considering the bird was flying around. Good job.
The way its head stays perfectly still as it moves is so mesmerizing... 😮
Yeah these herons are really talented in that regard. I’ve seen them hunting gophers when they sway left and right very much but keep their head still. Their tails and body are wagging back and forth yet their eyes are still. It’s a very strange effect.
Yup good job 👏 Blue Heron also is stunning
How you guys flim these videos? How much time it takes and where you place the cameras. It's a great work 👍 👏 ❤
Thank you so much 😀I drove to the local park about a mile away in this case. The bird was hunting in its usual place. It was there about three weeks hunting in a very small area near a parking lot. I brought my folding chair and set it up near the road so that the bird was in the best lighting. I then watched it looking for indications that it detected something. This bird was very easy to video. Most night herons I video are very nervous birds. This bird did not fear me. That made it much easier to adjust my position. I think the best secret to getting good videos is finding a bird that allows you to video it.
I applaud your efforts to continue filming the bird after it flew away with the pocket gopher. 👏
Thanks. Since I was filming it with a monopod and I was sitting on a small chair, it was difficult to pick up the camera and follow the bird even though I was anticipating it might fly.
can you store it in your glove compartment or keep it in the trunk safely? Summer months???
At first not realizing the noise of the traffic, I thought this was filmed in the Amazon jungle, when actually it was in Long Beach, CA.
It’s right next to drone helicopters, model airplanes, a gardener, a drilling rig installing a well, a road with people walking and cars driving, a shooting range etc. This bird doesn’t seem to mind a lot of noise.
Wow, I had no idea you are local. I pass by that area all the time through the San Gabriel River Bike Path. This area must've been next to El Dorado Park camping grounds.
Yeah this bird does frequent there. This video was taken in Area 3 which is north of Wardlow and very near the parking lot and the bike trail. I was actually running on the bike trail past there this morning about 4:30 am.
@@jimzenor9148That is super early. You aren't too concerned about the homeless who sleep there?
Plot twist: gopher used those choppers to chew its way out the bird's stomach.
It's head stays in place and doesn't move even a tiny bit while it's body moves into position. Quite amazing.
They are so good at that. I’ve seen them wiggle their entire body swaying back and forth and still keeping their head perfectly still. I found it interesting that this heron chose not to use the really exaggerated movements. I have seen other night herons do that when hunting gophers.
Amazing how the head zooms ahead and remains totally immobile waiting for the body to catch up to it.
Wow, that's a cool video, great shot! Did the bird actually swallow the animal whole?
@@xaxoon69 thanks. Yes. It definitely swallowed it whole. That was the biggest one I saw it eat.
I’m glad the gopher and the bird became good friends and decided to move in and learn to fly from the inside
Guess you could say this heron could gopher anything it wanted to! XD
Puns aside, it's pretty cool to see how these guys hunt!
I call herons cats on stilts, it’s the way they stalk their prey.
Hah. It even takes its prey into a tree, like a leopard.
Bro is locked tf in for his breakfast
He is strangling it. I thought he would stab it. First time I have ever seen a bird do that😂
Yeah I agree. I probably have over a hundred videos of herons eating gophers and Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons nearly always use their dagger like bill. This night heron probably just doesn’t have enough weight to pull it off. They are probably a third of the weight of a great blue just throwing out a wild guesstimate.
I love watching nature it ain't like they could order out
Yeah I agree and the stakes are high. If they miss too many chances, they may not survive. I’ve seen this bird for at least 2 years and it is real bulky and strong so I think it takes advantage of its opportunities.
Man, I wouldn't have believed that a throat that small on the night heron could get that big of a meal down. The other thing I noticed is that the gopher is asphyxiated. Looked like a slow death. shiver me timbers. We all got to eat!
Yep, the benefits of getting such a big meal comes with the cost of having to subdue your dinner first.
Pretty cool stuff ,yeah a little sad but he dispatched it quickly and efficiently,Kudos Heron
That bird still has its ford raptor ancestors running strong through its veins.
Well I mean, birds *are* avian dinosaurs, so it’s hard for that instinct to go away
The footage you got was amaaaazing, thanks for sharing. It takes a lot of patience and focus to get that much on film...
I'm in NorCal, and I vist McNears Beach several times a week. It's my second home ❤
There are several different species of Herons and Egrets, as well as geese and ducks. A wonderful variety
Last Fall, though, I spotted one I'd never seen before. The (young) park rangers weren't even sure what it was. It was standing absolutely still at water's edge, like a statue
I looked it up and I'm 99% sure it was a Night Heron. I guess up here they're a pretty rare sight, because as their name suggests, they only appear at dusk...?
They do seem to prefer to hunt in low light which makes videoing them a challenge.
Those two put on a good show!
AWESOME footage. It's wild how snake-like the bird is, moving it's head up, then holding it perfectly still, as it pulls its body forward, then the process repeats.
What did it do in the initial strike to incapacitate the gopher?
Does it shake the prey in order to break its neck? It looks like it couldn't suffocate it.
Nice catch by the way (of the heron's behaviour).
I think in this case this bird inadvertently pierced the gopher in the throat. It’s hard to see and I’m not sure but I did look at it multiple times and slowed way down. That is why I think the gopher was wiggling so much at the beginning. The bird then grabbed it by the neck and squeezed and shook it until it could be eaten.
Thought the Heron would keep the gopher pinned down, with its talons and then rip out the proteins.
Water birds such as herons don't have the talons or beaks designed to tear flesh.
Herons do not have talons
When the heron let go of it, the gopher seemed to already be fatally wounded, but the snatch was so quick, I couldn't see what caused the injury. Did the bird stab it with its beak in the beginning?
Yeah I think it did. I think it was probably accidental because this bird usually grabs and chokes but it looked to me in a slowed version that it pierced the neck in a pretty vital spot.
That gopher has some huge chompers! 3:14
Yeah it sure does.
Wow this bird knows the oxygen cut off button , a bird of prey in deed
The patchy grass gives the bird cover from its prey, and the noisy environment prevents his prey from hearing him walk around. Smart bird.
Heron is not a bird but is it noisy.
Nice work here. What brand camera?
Thanks for this video, it was my Canon R6 equipped with Canon lens EF400 mm F4 DO lens.
That was very entertaining Jim. i feel for the gophers as well sometimes, i liked that you showed a soft side.
Where is it? You are lucky to have a rich variety of wildlife there
This bird is about a mile from my house in El Dorado Park in Long Beach, California. I miss the “real” wilderness but I found that you can find wildlife in the local parks.
@@jimzenor9148 excellent!
thanks for your reply. These birds are amazing !
Two minutes in before I realized he had a Shaolin ponytail
That heron probably flew into the tree because a nearby hawk likely would have tried to steal its prey. It was smart to conceal itself among the tree’s branches and foliage.
Yeah I agree. In fact I see a big Red Tailed Hawk that lands often on the electric power line towers very close to where I videoed that bird.
You showed it. Hawks are opportunistic feeders.
I have an abundance of squirrels, chipmunks and moles, sure could use one of these guys stopping by for a bite. The hawks and owls don't seem interested in them though. 🤷♀️
Great photography, and subject matter.
Thanks
"i feel for the gophers" said no one ever that has had them mess up a nice lawn
And that’s one of the reasons how animals help the ecosystem 😅
How long does it take for it to digest that thing and feel hungry again?
It was hunting again the next morning. When it eats a normal sized gopher, it will begin hunting again almost immediately, after just a few seconds. I seen it catch a gopher when it hadn’t finished swallowing the previous one.
This Heron wants to Gopher more.😊😊😊😊
😂😂😂
Nice pun
What did you use to shoot this great footage? Very persistent filming - well done!
@@WordyBirdNerd thanks. I used a Canon R6 with a Canon 400 mm DO lens.
that first peck jab effed up goph
Yeah. That was a good first peck. It seemed more effective than the other gophers I saw this heron catch.
@jimzenor9148 What's the number they can eat - one per day? Seems like one is a pretty large meal that would last them a few days.
@@melanies.6030if they are small or medium sized, I’m confident it could eat at least four. The really big ones would take longer between meals. I did see it hunting again the next day after the big meal. I think they can eat a lot in times of plenty.
@@jimzenor9148 Wow, that's impressive! Thanks for sharing your videos, outstanding footage!👍
@@melanies.6030thanks. I learned a lot watching these herons. Some of my older videos are of an old Great Blue Heron I called Greta. I learned so much from following that bird around. I also learned a lot from this night heron. I am happy to share what I can.
Heron was doing the big cat stalk!!!!
Yeah he was. That’s what he reminded me of too. A great blue heron I saw last week did its best cat imitation too.
At 6:22 the bird bursts.
Wow, documentary film level shooting. Very interesting. Thanks!
Thanks. The heron was very cooperative that day.
Don't you hear National Geographic calling? 😉
Thanks. I really really appreciate that. Although it is currently hunting in Area 3, I first saw this bird in 2021 near the wooden walk bridge by the Spring Street entrance.
@@jimzenor9148 I lived directly west of the LBP range. I loved hearing the rouinds going off. I participated in a car show outside the range... but stepped in some poop. LOL
I live real close to there too, near Los Coyotes Diagonal and Conant. El Dorado is luckily the closest park.
You'll never look at birds the same way before...(Allan Grant: Somewhat as to the quote. I was sooo in love with him a 90s kid and still am ^.^ An otaku always)
That's just brunch.
no gophers were harmed in the filming of this video. Most likely a stunt gopher
He definitely deserved an Oscar for best supporting actor.
@@jimzenor9148 His name is freddie. Early in his career he didnt play dead nearly as well as he did in this skit. He looked completely dead. Which is a skill he has mastered, looking forward to seeing him in future skits
I know it’s nature but I still feel bad for the little guy
Gopher Sam: "Well. There goes Fred."
The raptor eating it's human prey.
Not a raptor
@@chipsrafferty8362 Just a reference to the Jurassic park scenes
Well it is a dinosaur.
How does it digest harder parts like nails, teeth, and bones?
I have read that they will regurgitate indigestible parts but I have only seen them regurgitate crayfish skeletons. I think they are very good at digesting most of it anyway.
How did the heron actually kill the gopher? Is the heron's bite force strong enough to break the gopher's neck? Or did the heron choke the gopher like a lion does to its prey? The heron didn't seem to hold the gopher long enough to do that?
@@NathanLGrossman this was the only time when it seemed this heron stabbed its prey, probably by accident IMO. It generally grabs and chokes but in this case right when it struck it seemed to get a lucky shot on the jugular. I looked at it frame by frame and to me that’s the best explanation for the bird immediately dropping the gopher and the gopher wiggling so much. I made 4 videos of this bird over a couple weeks and it was pretty consistent about grabbing and choking and shaking its prey.
They're like Crocodiles and Cats. Very Very patient and persistent!!
Yes I agree. I have especially noticed how cat-like they can be. They stalk prey like a cat.
It's not a direct kill, so it just hold the prey around the beak and making movement to let the beak cut and the prey will eventually die through bleeding, did I get it right?
Amazing video ! I am wondering what camera and lenses you used?
Thanks. I have a Canon R6. I almost always shoot at maximum 4K with my EF 400 mm DO lens.
@jimzenor9148 That's why it looks so good you have a really good tool, nice 👍
That gopher is gonna be pissed when it comes out the other end.
Yeah. Birds combine their liquid and solid waste so yeah you have a good point there.
What is your wildlife setup if you don’t mind me asking?
I have a Canon R6 and I was using my Canon EF 400 mm DO lens.
02:30 damn that peck hit somethin vital. the gopher was spazzin