Although I wouldn’t expect Mary to sit through hours of birding at Big Beef Creek, I returned right after she left because I wasn’t satisfied with the pictures I had taken on my earlier visit. Photoshopping can never take the place of sunshine.
I was much happier with pictures taken on the second attempt, though I didn’t think the action was as exciting as on the previous visit. I particularly liked this sequence showing an immature Bald Eagle stealing a fish from a Great Blue Heron.
Apparently the Great Blue Heron have learned to drop a fish right in front of them when an eagle approaches. I missed that part of the sequence but caught it just as the eagle was about to grab the fish.
The heron certainly wasn’t about to give up its catch without a fuss.
It even seemed to lunge at the immature eagle,
but the Eagle hardly looked back
before taking off with the fish.
Temporarily defeated, the heron immediately went back to trying to catch another fish.