Compilation of some memorable Great Blue Herons eating gophers

[@dannyarroway4187]

Fantastic videos! I am now a subscriber! Excellent photography (you should teach a course)!

[@jimzenor9148]

Thanks, I really appreciate that.

[@sociavibe5492]

0:31 That owl had to drop some weight to take off

[@p47koji]

Wonderfully put together, Sir!

[@gododgers3491]

Always amazes me how large of a meal they can swallow. Thanks!

[@dewbow134]

0:26 What a beautiful Great horned Owl, losing its fledgling feathers and getting adult plumage. Their eyes look particularly beautiful when their pupils are big in low light. 😍

[@jimzenor9148]

Good observations. My camera is pretty good at low light and it was darker than it appeared.

[@JohnnyFive-rn3xk]

The heron kills its prey first. I've always been curious how fast live prey die inside the body of predators when swallowed. You wouldn't want biting and clawing inside you. Pelicans gulp down animals live, for example. They don't seem at risk of internal injuries.

[@GloomyGluttony]

How are they not at risk internally

[@JohnnyFive-rn3xk]

​@@GloomyGluttony Exactly my question. Eat a live squirrel with your mouth only and tell me how it goes. Make too much sense?

[@Armando-913]

​@@JohnnyFive-rn3xk komodo dragon entered the chat

[@mochom3758]

MAGNIFICENT BIRD, PERFECT IN EVERY WAY

[@jimzenor9148]

This is a bird that likely reached a very old age (at lest the majority of the videos are of her). I called her Greta. I followed her for well over a year (4 or 5 times a week) and she impressed me and taught me far more than any other wild animal I ever encountered. I was with her when she died, probably from bird flu. Definitely a magnificent bird. I never thought I would have such a profound respect for a bird but she won me over.

[@johnhall3570]

Imagine how Caddyshack would’ve turned out if a Great Blue Heron had been on that golf course! 😜

[@jimzenor9148]

Yeah I think it would have been more like a Freddie Kruger film.

[@mythbuster4880]

😂❤

[@cherylmiller5438]

Thank u I love these birds

[@jimzenor9148]

You’re welcome. I agree they are amazing

[@tundratiger9473]

Whenever I watched this kind videos, I imagine how it feels if the size of 4"' wide spear stabs my body.

[@abd-animation-22]

I am so glad i was born as a humen

[@somar22]

Be nice to have a Great Blue Heron as a pet as my yard would be a plentiful food source

[@johnhall3570]

If they hunt squirrels as well, I’d like a Great Blue Heron too!

[@kathleenlandolt5936]

Marvelous photography!

[@jimzenor9148]

Thanks Kathleen

[@kathleenlandolt5936]

@@jimzenor9148 You're quite Welcome.

[@Veronika-z3p]

the one just gave up XD

[@waterhead001]

They catch the Gopher, and it looks like the Heron holds on to the Gopher by its neck and kills it by strangling it then swallows the Gopher whole.

[@jimzenor9148]

Yeah that seems to be the most common way they finish off their prey.

[@donaldhuffman8080]

0:26 I’m pretty sure this is a western screech owl not great horned owl

[@jimzenor9148]

I understand why you think that. It looks a lot like a screech owl. A screech owl is quite small and this bird was quite large, bigger than a red tailed hawk. It is a juvenile and missing the “horns”. I’d love to see a Western Screech Owl. I have never seen one but i did hear one in Arizona. You can look up juvenile Great Horned Owl and I’m pretty sure you’ll agree with me.

[@Armando-913]

​@@jimzenor9148its a horned owl

[@lisab8836]

Beautiful wildlife ❤️

[@PatrobaP]

Such a skilled hunter. Very brutal

[@emercycrite]

How does the heron kill the gopher before eating it? Does the beak actually stab through the gopher’s skull?

[@jimzenor9148]

Yeah I have seen numerous times when they seemed to stab into the skull and other times just penetrating into the neck head area. They often choke the gopher with a squeeze or shake it like a cat does. Their beak is very sharp and strong and will even penetrate into the ground to get a gopher trying to pull plant roots down into their tunnels.

[@emercycrite]

@@jimzenor9148That's fascinating! These birds are tremendous hunters

[@Armando-913]

whats the success rate of the heron?

[@jimzenor9148]

That’s a good question. I’ve spent a lot of time in the last 3 or so years documenting mostly herons hunting. I think that sometimes the success rate is quite good like better than 50%. In the spring when the soil is moist, and gophers are plentiful , they can easily catch 2 or 3 gophers in an hour. I’ve been watching them lately and their success is much lower, probably 15 to 20 percent. Their bill just bounces off the hard ground. The gophers seem to be much harder to find. I found that they tend to spend much more time just finding a gopher, and just stand there for an hour or two poised to strike. They spend more time in the water hunting fish and crayfish in the hard times.

[@KendraAndTheLaw]

Heron's will eat just about anything they can swallow. Baby chickens, ducklings, any bird, rodents, even snakes, etc, etc. The world is their buffet.

[@sportsmediaamerica]

No time wasted slaving over a hot stove!

[@Bigboss-br8gw]

amazing ~~~~~~~~

[@Pango5697]

I guess they drown the gophers to swallow it whole or just pierce them with their beaks

[@jimzenor9148]

Yes and I think it really helps to wash them down as they swallow

[@johnhall3570]

I believe herons dunk all their prey in water several times (after killing it, of course!) to help it slide down their throats so it doesn’t get stuck halfway down.

[@johnhall3570]

It looks like herons grab or skewer the gophers with their beaks and shake them until their necks break then omnomnom

[@robbernath]

If the strike with the beak happens to hit an artery in the gopher, the resulting blood flow can act as a "washing" liquid if water is not nearby. Herons can also seem to salivate enough to swallow dry prey.

[@schmolck]

Why do the gophers even come up?

[@jimzenor9148]

Yeah good question. Everything wants to eat them. Really they try hard to stay under ground but they do need to get rid of the dirt as they dig access tunnels for new grass. Herons are really good at finding the gophers when they are feeding on grass from just below the ground surface.

[@canadianfatty9473]

Just goes to show no matter how great your survival strategy is there’s always going to be fatal flaws in the wild

[@mythbuster4880]

Apparently, they're not the smartest little rodent dudes, right?🤷‍♀️

[@kamauwikeepa7308]

​@@mythbuster4880yes, I've seen them digging with the heron staring at him, next minute gone.

[@Liews]

还🉐洗洗？？不然🈶沙难吞？😂😂

[@abdulmatin5670]

😢😢

[@stunter2875]

Beautiful killing machines...

[@mikelewis3271]

Snuff movies.

[@jimzenor9148]

They are gopher snuff movies for sure, or heron feast movies.

[@アプリ-z9x]

必殺仕事人ですね❗️💥

[@mythbuster4880]

Gotta love the little pink feet and tail dangling before that last gulp. Eeeeew....🤢 Your photography is spectacular!!!

[@williamphillips6049]

And my wife tells me I eat too fast . .

[@jimzenor9148]

Yeah my wife is always telling me I need to savor every bite and I’m just eating a teeny tiny bite compared to these birds

[@williamphillips6049]

@@jimzenor9148 'Ever seen a woman "disect" a burrito?

[@jimzenor9148]

@@williamphillips6049yeah that sounds like my wife eating one.

[@abdulmatin5670]

😢😢