Tweeters -

During a bird/bikeride around Mercer Slough this afternoon, I
witnessed a struggle that I will not soon forget. I passed a GREAT BLUE
HERON poised to strike something, and decided to stop and watch. After
several minutes (the heron never flinching), it leapt forward, plunging its
head into a bunch of grass. Expecting a frog or nothing at all to be in its
grasp, I was astonished to see that it had extracted a mole from the weeds!
I watched, utterly amazed, as it retreated into some dense grasses. I tried
to follow it without spooking it, and caught glimpses of the heron vigorously
shaking the mole, obviously trying to kill it, while the mole was clawing at
the heron's face. After losing and refinding the heron again (we were
separated by a fence), the mole was nowhere to be seen . . . just a large
bulge in the heron's neck.
Quite exciting. Has anybody else ever witness this? My Dad doesn't
believe me . . .

Good Birding!

Tyler Davis, 17
Mercer Island, WA
didjkid at aol.com