This is kind of off-topic as this observation was based in Costa Rica, but = I was wondering if anyone had seen anything like it in Minnesota. This is = absolutely incredible behaviour...Accounted below:
"I was touring up Ca=F1o Harold [Tortuguero NP] by electric motor just = fifty meters upstream from two big Almendro trees (Dipteryx panamensis) = when I observed, along with two Swiss-Italians I was guiding for, a lone = Green Heron (Butorides virescens) standing on some water hyacinth and = looking into the water. We stopped to silently observe it from a short = distance. It was looking down into the water. Floating in the current = directly in front of the heron was a cricket which was on its back with = its legs moving in the air. It was unable to right itself and was probably = injured. To my surprise the heron did not pick it up to eat it but was = observing it closely as it floated slowly by. Suddenly when the cricket = appeared to be almost out of reach the heron plucked it out of the water = and placed it back in the water just slightly upstream. It again observed = it closely as it floated by. After repeating this four or five times it = suddenly lunged its head forward at the cricket catching a small fish = which had come up to eat it. It then quickly swallowed the fish.=20 I asked my clients if it would be all right to continue observing the = heron for a few minutes more and they agreed as they were just as = surprised as I was to have witnessed this. A short time later the bird flew over to the other side of the river and = landed on the weeds on the far side. I followed it with the electric motor = and we came upon it again within a short distance of less than ten meters. = The heron was walking back away from the river towards the trees. I was = observing it with my binoculars when it suddenly lunged forward to catch = what turned out to be another cricket. I could clearly see through the = binoculars that it was crushing the cricket repeatedly in its bill. It = walked out to the edge of the river and placed the still live-and-kicking = cricket in the water. It repeated the plucking and replacing routine with = the cricket in the water and after a few tries caught another fish!" Has anyone seen anything like this before? Quite an astounding observation= , and something I wish I could have seen. A heron using "bait" to fish = with! Chris Fagyal Senior Software Engineer United Defense, L.P. Fridley, MN (763) 572-5320 [email protected]
