At 09:47 AM 10/20/98 -0700, Michael G. Shepard wrote:
>Myke Chutter, a bird biologist with the BC Govt sent out the following
>observation:
>
>"Don Hyde of Victoria called to report an unusual foraging method he
>observed for GBHE at the Holiday Inn in Chilliwack. Apparently there is a
>pair of herons that hang out there regularly. There is a pond on the
>property loaded with carp. He says he observed a heron perched on a railing
>at the Inn, fly off the railing and dive head first (like a kingfisher) into
>the pond, grab a fish and fly back out. He says the
>railing is about 10-12 ft high and about 12-15 ft from the pond, and that
>the pond is too deep for the bird to alight in.

I have seen a tri-colored heron do this in Florida. The railing in question
was part of one of the viewing platforms at The Everglades National Park's
Eco Pond. The fish in question were tiny. It was too dark to shoot the
heron actually diving (not to mention the lack of vantage points as the
platform overhangs the deep pool) but it let me stand on the platform
with it and photograph it on the rail in beautiful overcast light. You
can see the result at http://donb.photo.net/photo_cd/a/b30.html if you
wish. The platform was just barely big enough for me to be able to
shoot it with the lens I had mounted (300 + extension tube to allow
closer focusing), i.e. I was about six feet away, as far away as I
could get as he was perched in the middle of the rail!

Later the sun came out but the heron was no where to be seen. You
could see deep into the pool, though, and there were tens of thousands
of small, minnow-sized fish milling around. The attraction to the
heron was obvious!

>I've never heard anything like this - have you (or anyone else cc'd).
>Maybe worth dropping by the Holiday Inn and taking photo's?"

It definitely would be worth someone's while. How reliably and frequently
do they fish there?


- Don Baccus, Portland OR <dhogaza at pacifier.com>
Nature photos, on-line guides, and other goodies at
http://donb.photo.net