Bigger Than Your Head…by Brad Marks

Greetings everyone, we are back with another adventure from Brad’s queue. Today’s feature is a perfect reflection of today – too big of a bite as it were. Ever had one of those days when you feel a 1,000 percent and decide to step up your game in celebration? My friend had to bail on our trail run today, so thought “Hey Bri, let’s put on the big boy pants and go hit the second hardest trail course in the area”. Mind you, Inner Bri has NEVER turned down a challenge and now several hours later sitting here wondering at what point an alien is going to pop out of my lungs. 2 months to go before I have a 50K on the big daddy course – Inner Bri is evil ha. I’ll let Brad take you through what kind of bite his subject took.

…take it away Brad! (note, you can use the image links to view the full sized images)

Like most of you, winter gets old pretty fast for us. Jan was looking at fun, quick, and warm trips for a February getaway from central Illinois. Not that the weather can’t be lovely in central Illinois in February, but it’s usually not. She found an inexpensive hotel suite in Myrtle Beach. I asked what’s there to do in Myrtle Beach (not knowing since we’d never been to South Carolina before). She said there are more than a few nature and wildlife reserves in the immediate area. By the way, did you know that Myrtle Beach is the mini-golf capital of the world? There are over fifty, fifty as in “five-zero”, mini-golf establishments located in Myrtle Beach. Jan and I saw two or three new ones being built.

One of the best winter locations for birding (IMHO) is Huntington Beach State Park, south of Myrtle Beach.  The park has multiple environments to attract all sorts of birds: seashore habitats, tidal marsh habitats, brackish and somewhat tidal habitats, freshwater habitats, forest habitats, and open grassy area habitats.  Need I say more?  It’s a fantastic place to see a plethora of birds in a variety of habitats without traveling to multiple states over multiple days.

Great Blue Heron Hunting by Brad Marks

Hit the jump to read about Brads hungry GBH(ippo)

We had an early breakfast while the sun was coming up to make sure we were at the park around 8:00 am.  I know, I know, that’s late for some birders.  Remember, we were on vacation.  The very cheery ranger at the gate chatted us up a bit (probably seeing the Illinois license plates on my car) and gave us a map and a few tips to get us started.  Huntington Beach State Park is big.  While you can certainly walk between birding opportunities if you have time, driving was more expedient.  The first parking lot was over a mile from the entrance which put us within a couple of hundred yards of the ocean.  As we arrived the tide had already begun to recede from the tidal habitat. 

The raised platform where we started was only a foot or so above the waterline at the time.  As we ventured onto the boardwalk, Jan spotted this guy sitting alone, watching the tide go out and waiting to start the day.

Great Blue Heron Hunting by Brad Marks

This largest heron in North America seemed out of place among the smaller egrets and cormorants.  The great blue heron (Ardea herodias) can grow to be 54 inches tall and this specimen was every inch of that.  We did not get to see its impressive 6- or 7-foot wingspan because it was on a mission for dinner.  Despite their great height and wingspan, they only weigh up to 7 pounds.

After the boardwalk, we decided to explore the causeway separating the tidal marsh and the brackish water.  While I adjusted my camera, Jan had already crossed the causeway a minute or so before me and was rapidly clicking away at the hooded mergansers, snowy egrets, a double-crested cormorant, a little blue heron and the very large great blue heron.

By this time there was precious little water left in the marsh areas and the wading birds were having a feast on the stranded aquatic life.  I was taking photos of hooded mergansers when I heard this loudly hushed “Brad!  Look over there”.  I looked up from the viewfinder to see Jan pointing just behind the mergansers.

Great Blue Heron Hunting by Brad Marks

A very large great blue heron (is that redundant?) had secured dinner for the next few days. Fish can easily get caught in the maze of channels as the water recedes, much to the delight of the ever-hungry wading birds.

Great Blue Heron Hunting by Brad Marks

Now, where was that fish?  Is it over here? 

NOTE for squeamish readers:  Nature isn’t always pretty, it’s about survival and sometimes someone gets eaten.  Not to worry though, our hero, the great blue heron is the victor in this story.  

Ah, there it is.  What a fine catch it was.  Now stop wiggling

Great Blue Heron Hunting by Brad Marks

Heron’s like to stab their prey with their long sharp bills. I could see its thought process as it eyed the fish. “Mom always told me two things: ‘Do not to take too big of a bite’ and ’Do not play with your food.’” Instructions ignored.

Great Blue Heron Hunting by Brad Marks

The fish is clearly larger than the heron’s head and bill combined.  The hinged part of their bill can be up to 7 ½ inches long.  This fish looks to be nearly twice that, and much bigger around than the heron’s throat.  The fish clearly does not want to “go gently into that good night” because it’s still wiggling.

Great Blue Heron Hunting by Brad Marks

The heron must have been thinking “I may have bitten off more than I can swallow.”  The fish is only about halfway in and more of it is outside than inside the heron.  The new dinner is so long that its tail fin is still touching the mud.

Great Blue Heron Hunting by Brad Marks

Half-way there. The fish is still wiggling! A great blue heron can eat up to 1 pound of fish per day. I think this fish was well over 1 pound. Great blue herons have been known to choke to death if they eat a fish too large to safely swallow. I was beginning to wonder if this one had made the same mistake.

Great Blue Heron Hunting by Brad Marks

I know what it’s thinking at this point, “I need a drink to wash this thing down.”  Or more likely, “I couldn’t eat another bite.”  Maybe a mint, to get rid of the muddy fish taste . . . just wafer thin.  The tail fin of the fish is still visible in the heron’s mouth.  Herons spend about 90% of their waking hours stalking food.  After this meal, I think the insects, amphibians and crustaceans in the area breathed a sigh of relief for a few days.

Great Blue Heron Hunting by Brad Marks

That’s better; time for a little stroll to help settle it down.  The heron started a proud strut.  Probably because it was able to swallow the fish whole and won’t have to worry about eating for a few days.  The smaller snowy egret and tricolored heron seemed very disappointed because no scraps were left for them. 

Have you ever eaten something so satisfying it made you shiver?

Great Blue Heron Hunting by Brad Marks

With a steady food supply, and barring injury or illness, a great blue heron can live up to 15 years in the wild.

The great blue heron is not a +1 for me.  However, it is the first time I’ve ever seen one eat a fish as big as its head.  While we were on this trip, we saw 56 individual species of birds (at least 56 identifiable ones).  The local birders told us they were rather disappointed with the low number of birds in the area.  I said “What?!”  They said, “Oh yes, there are several times more birds that usually migrate through the habitats from mid-April thru mid-May.”  They then proceeded to name dozens of species we wouldn’t see for several more weeks.

Thank you for reading. .  If you want to see more bird photos from our South Carolina winter escape, please visit here.

Credits:

Thanks again to Jan and Allyson for proofreading and editing.  Thanks to Jan for some of the photos in this article. 

Notes:

Important safety tip for birders:  always be aware of your surroundings.  I know Brian has mentioned alligators and snakes sneaking up on him in prior posts.  And I’m sure others have had close calls with animals in nature while trying to keep them in your viewfinder.  My close call was not with an animal, but with a very inattentive driver of a popular brand of blue electric car named after a late 19th/ early 20th-century scientist.  The driver was talking on his mobile phone and looking at the birds off to his right, all while driving into a crosswalk with people still in it.  I was already in the crosswalk and had stopped near the centerline when I saw this blue car approaching.  I also noticed the car was not stopping, so I did.  Apparently, every member in the car was also looking at the birds until someone riding in the front seat with him shouted and he slammed on the brakes.  By the time the car fully stopped it was straddling the pedestrian crosswalk with me standing there watching from the other side of the centerline.  He looked at me, muttered something complimentary (I’m sure), and then sped off down the causeway.  At least I saw this potential hazard before it became one.

46 thoughts on “Bigger Than Your Head…by Brad Marks”

  1. Excellent shots. At least your pTerodactyl ate his fish. Ours just murders the fish and leaves them. Twice I’ve witnessed our pTer murdering catfish and then flying off without eating the fish.

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          2. Man I loved that bad when they came out – that video was awesome and Warren D Martini had some tasty licks. Unfortunately I absolutely hate Loving You Is A Dirty Job and moved on. Lead singer turned into a total drunk in the later years.. apparently back now, but that band is absolutely dysfunctional.

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          3. Loving You Is A Dirty Job never caught my attention. So typical. One exception is Steel Panther who makes fun of it all, act they are totally caught up in the sex, drug and metal culture, but they stay fit and in top form for performing.

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          4. I especially like the fact they are constantly making fun of Motley Crue – Sixx is a jackass and gets all upset when you call his singer fat hehehe. Satchel could play for any band he wanted to.

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  4. Unbelievable what these herons manage to get through their throats, I also gave it several times on videos. That it can sometimes lead to death due to suffocation, however, is not known – but it does not surprise me.
    Have a nice weekend,
    Rudi

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    1. Thanks Rudi. I did read about GBH’s expiring because their eyes were bigger than their throats. And dinner certainly looked like it was on the edge of possible. Thanks for stopping by.

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  6. Great series on the GBH’s great big meal! I wonder if catfish have been left behind due to their painful spines? But as you say, anything that’s left laying will soon have a raft of secondary scavengers after it.

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    2. Sorry, hit “send” too quickly. Though the photos didn’t show it very well, there were a bunch of “hangers-on” just waiting for the heron to drop the chalupa, so to speak. As soon as it was obvious there would be no leftovers, the little blue heron, snowy egret and a few other small birds left the area to fend for themselves.

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  7. Next time in that area try contacting the Tom Yawhkee wildlife preserve. It’s wilderness, barrier island. Can only be reached by a special ferry waiting for the morning visitor Areas here are. Untouched by people for a 100 years. Sorry for the typos I am learning to be a lefty now.

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    1. Thanks for the tip Ted. We are planning our next winter escape, so good to have target locations. Hope you can be ambidextrous again soon.

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  8. This is a great post, guys! I used to have an office next to a park and enjoyed watching the great blue herons fish. I’ve seen them actually toss the fish up in the air before swallowing it. Never did see one swallow a fish as big as the one you saw though. Safe travels – especially when in crosswalks.

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  9. Loved visiting those nature reserves when I was stationed in Northern Georgia. They have a wealth of wildlife year round and great hiking opportunities. Someday hopefully I can get there to kayak.
    Wonderful post!

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  10. “Mergancers!’ I have been trying to identify this bird since I saw a flock of them on a tiny woodland lake! Thanks, Brad! ❤

    The great blue heron you saw managed to swallow the whale it caught. The one I watched gagging on a too-large fish a few years ago gave up and spit the fish out in my backyard! 🙂

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    1. Very welcome Cheryl. Glad to help where I can, even if I didn’t know about it. I was wondering if the GBH we saw swallow that “whale” kept it down, or not. I think the fish was quite a bit larger than what it normally catches and eats. We were surprised that the heron even tried to eat it. Sure glad we caught it on “film”. Thanks for stopping by.

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    2. We actually have two species of the Mergansers in the US – the Common and the Red-Breasted – from a quick look at the region maps, it is most likely in the parts where you are at are the Red-Breasted variety. The Commoners stay well away from Florida for some reason. Thanks for dropping in Cheryl!

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  11. Great photos of the Great Blue Heron, Brad. I have worried about herons choking, too, but luckily, have never had to run into the water to pull their prey out of their throats (though I would, if I could). Doesn’t seem to smart on their part.
    BTW, 8 AM in February is not really late and the sun was only just rising, as your beautiful image shows. I need to add this park to my travel wish list.

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    1. Thank you Tanja! I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. I’m afraid my Great Blue Heron CPR certification expired. Sunrise was about 6:50 that morning, and the park had just opened at 8am. We were pleasantly surprised to see as many species as we did in the 7 hours we were there. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. I know I’d go back again and take much larger memory cards (only had room for 19 photos my camera told me). Thanks for coming by.

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