Bird forages with intention
Johan had been visiting his family’s farm in Wolwedans, Stellenbosch at the time.
He and his family were sitting outside when his son-in-law pointed out the heron. The bird appeared to be patrolling the garden, head held high and steps intentional. It was, in fact ,on the hunt.
Johan explained that they realised it was up to something by the way it kept its focus on the plants it was walking alongside.
Bird prepares to attack
The bird stared into the plants while standing completely still. This is standard hunting behaviour for the Grey Heron.
It then wiggled its body in a curious fashion as though revving itself up in preparation to make a defining move.
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Its head darted forwards like an arrow, purposefully and strategically into the shrubbery. Whatever it had been eyeing would not have seen it coming.
Heron makes a triumphant kill
It seemed the bird’s stalking and hunting prowess had paid off. It lifted its head to reveal a catch. “To my amazement, it caught a mouse!” said Johan.
Mice are not slow movers, and this heron had not only evaded the mouse’s detection; it had darted forwards quick enough to lift up the fast-moving prey.
It was a moment of triumph for the heron, which stretched out its neck and lifted up its head as though to say, “See what I caught!”
The mouse was still wiggling around in the heron’s beak, however, the bird maintained a composure of sheer confidence. This heron was definitely a well-trained hunter and no amount of wiggling and protesting from any mouse was about to deter it from its goal… which in this instance, seemed to be lunch.
It opened its beak and with an impressive gulp motion, swallowed the mouse whole. “It made quick work of the mouse,” said Johan.
Bird patrols for a second ‘snack’
He said the heron wasn’t done after this lunch-time snack. It was then time for a second snack. The skilled hunter foraged again among the plants, and after swallowing a second mouse for the day, flew off.
“It was quite a rare sighting for me as I had no idea herons ate mice,” said Johan, recalling the incident.
With its dagger-like beak and a length of 90 to 98cm, the Grey Heron is an easily recognisable bird. The bird eats primarily eat fish, amphibians, small mammals, and occasionally insects or birds. This it does by striking its prey with its sharp bill.
Its spear-like bill and S-shaped neck, together with its agile body and long limbs, make it a perfect hunting machine. This one was cool and calculated, and made its hunt for mice appear to be easy.
Johan saw twice, in a single sighting, just how skilled Grey Herons are at hunting. He encourages other game viewers to take time at each viewing: “Patience is the key to capturing a sighting like this on film.”