Great Blue Heron Eats Screaming Squirrel in One Bite! Birding in San Diego (Lakeside)

[@Anyagrows]

The poor squirrel didn’t even see it coming 🥲 the circle of life is vicious.

[@ExplorationEverything]

Vicious but life is also pretty nice 👍🏼

[@KevinTichenor]

I agree! Sometimes you don’t know whether it’s a solid or a liquid, right?

[@snapslingpeavine1371]

@@ExplorationEverythingWe know that life is nice, and that predators play a vital role in the ecosystem. We also know not to hate the heron for following its instincts. But it doesn’t make the death any less gruesome.🤷

[@ilovecutedogs.6045]

And beautiful

[@bobbonj1171]

It’s not vicious..interrupting the circle of life is vicious!

[@denizen9998]

To small animals, terror birds never became extinct.

[@NK-qn6pq]

"Nature is so peaceful and beautiful" Nature:

[@unityforall-md4fl]

To small animals, T Rex is still very much ALIVE!

[@thanosdoomjuggernaut2846]

But to us humans, we can any of these terror birds.

[@thanosdoomjuggernaut2846]

@@unityforall-md4flWho cares…. to us humans we can eat a T-Rex easily, if they still existed.

[@unityforall-md4fl]

@@thanosdoomjuggernaut2846 true if they stayed as primal t-rex, but what if they did exist, but they have evolved into t-rex bots predators with advanced technologies. I rather they evolved into a gentle giants that helps evolve and care for vulnerable cells like humans who holds humanities.

[@daveman9712]

It didn't look to me like the bird was drowning the rodent, maybe just lubricating the meal to make it easier to swallow? Good video, though!

[@ExplorationEverything]

Thanks! I’d agree, it probably just needed it to stop moving enough to swallow. The neck swinging and water boarding probably partially subdued it nevertheless. Before it used the water to make for an easier swallow.

[@onemynde8915]

@@ExplorationEverything Ground Squirrels breathe at 100-150 breaths per minute normally. This guy was probably hyperventilating at 3 breaths per second so a short dip is enough to take in water and while not fatal, definitely debilitating. Also to lube the meal for going down the gullet.

[@ExplorationEverything]

@@onemynde8915 Sure, but I was there, and watched the squirrel go from screaming to silent and limp. The lil thing wasn’t moving, wasn’t screaming, and was passed out or dead before being ingested hence the comical commentary of a heron drowning a squirrel. Drowning a squirrel takes 1-2 min per multiple random sources, so it probably got drowned in this long process of wetting the fur. The main point is that the bird is smart enough to manipulate its food with water anyways regardless of what happened👍🏼 thanks for the insight!

[@cynthiagonzalez658]

Sauce 😋

[@lillianahunter1199]

Creatures can still sometimes damage herons when the bird swallows

[@MixerHaven1975]

The Popeyes Biscuit of the animal kingdom

[@helloidharbl6753]

Needs a little butter and sweet tea.

[@Crazycoyote-we7ey]

Can confirm they taste better with chili

[@cigmaoliver]

poor sandy...

[@darksider9534]

Heron: 'Yo, this chicken nugget dry af! Ooh! Tomato Ketchup!' 😂

[@redamber483]

when you're hungry , there is no such thing as ''cute''

[@SHOIOTERB]

Pelicans, Seagulls and now Herons, every big bird eats like that now, XD

[@thanosdoomjuggernaut2846]

@@SHOIOTERBLOL!!! I wonder what all those taste like. Because they can’t do anything to me whatsoever.

[@SHOIOTERB]

@@thanosdoomjuggernaut2846 Then try to get one and prepare it so you can eat it

[@thanosdoomjuggernaut2846]

@@SHOIOTERB It’s called a shot-gun. I bet they all taste like chicken.

[@goforward123]

once in my life I was on a very very low level of society. the church had to give me food. a friend then gave me little pig to eat. about a foot and a half high. as I chased it in the pen to do it in, it was a male, it instinctively knew its end was there. squealing. I felt empathy, and did not want to shoot it. it gave up and put its head between its feet. I did not want to do it in, Then, my stomach growled, I had little food, when my stomach growled, all empathy disappeared. I was totally surprised.

[@dmbeaster]

The water makes it easier to swallow - not to drown it. It is still alive when swallowed, though stunned by the beak grip. It is tossing it around to get it in best swallow position.

[@Johnny_Appleweed]

No, it's shaking it around to stun it

[@montyalb8788]

The water can do a bunch of things still. The squirrel was panicked and breathing hard before enterning the water. It's definitely not doing better when cold water enters its lungs. It can put the rodent into shock if not actually drown it.

[@ExplorationEverything]

A bit of both. Being water boarded while having your spine snapped around is quite the combo. The prototool behavior I was referring to is the heron using water to make it easier to swallow. Basic food manipulation.

[@aisteduseviciute4005]

If it is still alive when the heron eats it, wouldn't the chimpmunk eat a hole in the stomach? Weird to think about that...

[@dmbeaster]

@@aisteduseviciute4005 There is a picture of a snake eating its way out. www.google.com/search?q=snake+eating+out+of+bird+stomach&oq=snake+eating+out+of+bird+stomach&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRigATIHCAUQIRigAdIBCTc1ODhqMWoxNagCCLACAQ&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:cc6782cd,vid:689P9t2hFYI,st:7

[@dennisk5818]

I just learned something! I had no idea that the Great Blue Heron would hunt small rodents and squirrels. I had, up to this time, thought fish, snakes and frogs were its game. Thank you. Oh, for those who thought "... Ahhhh, the poor squirrel...". This is life. It happens daily and each every second in each day.

[@ExplorationEverything]

It was a learning experience for me too😅 they have been known to go after ducklings or other small birds during spring breeding. They’ll go after anything nutritional regardless of how “cute” if it’s easy pickings.

[@nebson]

Naturalistic fallacy. More generally: no “is” can imply an “ought”.

[@zee_terminator2850]

@@nebsonso do you suggest that we should intervene in ecosystems because from our perspective its sad when a cute looking rodent gets eaten by a predator that specifically evolved to hunt such animals? Im sure removing predators from local ecosystems couldnt possibly have any ramifications….

[@chodkowski01]

@@ExplorationEverythingI seen Herons eat baby ducks.

[@Macwylee]

What do you think the squirrel was saying?

[@MourningDove-bn4dk]

The heron doesn't see a cute squirrel. The heron sees a cute snack.

[@jamesjohnson7905]

Great blue heron is a massively underrated predator

[@bobdavis1895]

Great blue herons are killing machines who kill anything even when they aren't hungry.

[@robertthompson5908]

I didn’t know there was a rating system for birds.

[@ArtzerBotany]

Definitely

[@markfox1545]

There's a ratings chart?

[@greywolf7577]

I read a story about squirrels eating voles. Now I see a video about herons eating squirrels. I think the food web got put through the drier or something.

[@AbandonedMines11]

Never would have imagined that a heron would eat something like a chipmunk or a squirrel. I thought they only ate fish. This was a really incredible video to watch, and it was very educational! 👍

[@bensantos3882]

This is basically how asdarcyds or the giant pterosaurs hunted. We used to always see them as fish eaters, but these things were the size of giraffes but could fly. They most likely just ate smaller dinosaurs or their babies. Can you imagine that living in a world not only plagued in the ocean but your not even safe from the skies in the Crutaceous?

[@billlynn8256]

I would never leave the cave.

[@bensantos3882]

@billlynn8256 Yeah I was at the field museum and three different dinosaur strolling parks. They had these life sized replicas. I'm not joking they're the size of giraffes and their heads are twice the size of me I'm 6'3!! I used to think you would be safe if you got off the ground or in a tree from dinosaurs if you got stuck in Jurassic Park, but no! A flying giraffe will just fly down to eat you anyway.

[@fawkes3124]

The only giraffe-sized ones were quetzalcoatlus and hatzegopteryx tho

[@MybeautifulandamazingPrincess]

Some pterosaurs probably killed the prey by dropping them on the ground. Like some predatory birds do now

[@jeannerogers7085]

"...dips the squirrel in water like a tortilla chip in salsa." EEUUUWWWWW!

[@Deuteromis]

That had me rolling. 🤣

[@joealvarez8733]

"Where's Alvin and Theodore? No comment!!! Well then, gurglegurglegurgle!!!" 😂😂😂

[@tadhghayden7601]

Very creamy of you...

[@hcollins9941]

66 million years later & this scenario hasn’t changed a bit! Azhdarchids would be proud birds took over their lessons in hunting!

[@donttuga9310]

Birds are the dinosaur's descendants, so watching them is a good indication of how dinos really acted.

[@hcollins9941]

@donttuga9310 Correction; Birds are the only living Dinosaurs left. They aren’t actually the descendants. Secondly, some fossils indicate that the earliest bird ancestors are possibly from the middle - late Jurassic; while the definitive earliest birds are from the Early - Late Cretaceous. So birds were around during the time of the non-avian dinosaurs & have survived to modern day.

[@donttuga9310]

@@hcollins9941 I only said descendant to be kind, as I know plenty to people who refuse to accept that birds are, in fact, dinosaurs(same people I mentioned also refuse evidence that we humans evolved from an ape being, despite the fact our DNA is 99% the same as a gorilla) I wasn't trying to discredit science, I was simply making it simple. If that makes sense.

[@hcollins9941]

@donttuga9310 Gotcha! 👍 Wasn’t trying to sound rude so I apologize; I also completely agree with you.

[@donttuga9310]

@@hcollins9941 Don't worry you weren't rude(at least I didn't think you were) and I understand you wanting to set the record straight with accuracy, I totally agree with you on that. After all, there's always time for scientific accuracy my friend.

[@railgap]

In case anyone forgot that dinosaurs are not only real, they walk among us today!

[@hary5406]

AMONG US!!!!!!!

[@actionman9451]

Looks like Alvin can’t talk his way out of this one lol 😂

[@philaro5958]

We have Great Blue Herons in San Francisco, and seeing them hunt gophers and squirrels in Golden Gate Park is pretty common. The park's main Lake has been renamed Great Blue Heron Lake as they like to hang out on a small island, high in the trees. My favorite GBH sighting was at Fort Funston - once a coastal artillery battery and now a park. The army loved to put in Ice Plant to hold the sand in place and now large areas are overgrown with a thick cover of it. Gophers and ground squirrels live under it and you occasionally see a GBH standing in it, looking like it's standing in a pond looking into the water, but I'm pretty sure it's waiting patiently at the entrance to a tunnel.

[@Soltex3]

“Like a tortilla chip in salsa” is so unserious 😭😭😭

[@glenwhite4443]

3:10 - Alvin?! ALVIN!!!

[@ExplorationEverything]

😅😂

[@Notmyhome-y7y]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@saltymisfit6566]

I knew that great blues had a varied diet I just didn't realize they were rodent eaters

[@ExplorationEverything]

Apparently they’ve been known to eat baby ducks too… I used to think it was mostly fish n snakes.

[@johannesnagengast7643]

They eat what ever they can swallow.

[@kenmorrill3774]

@@ExplorationEverything I've seen them hunting gophers in a field but don't know if they flew off to the nearby creek to help wash them down.

[@orboakin8074]

Whistler is a lot more brutal than I remember in the Animals of Farthing Wood cartoon😂😂

[@justinlapid2163]

Man, never thought I'd see an Animals of farthing wood reference. Whistler was an all around good character. Poor bird, his partner/wife nagged him to near death.

[@orboakin8074]

@@justinlapid2163 thanks dude. Grew up watching it as a kid in Nigeria 😂 Still Love it

[@justinlapid2163]

@@orboakin8074 haha me too ! although it's hard to find a good copy of the series nowadays. Peace to all! And have a nice day

[@thomaswateren3967]

Yeah Herons are pretty birds. I used to call them detectives. For the way they watch the water completely still in their long overcoats.

[@wintersun398]

Have you seen Secretary Birds? They are similar to this Heron

[@markdavidson1049]

This Heron must've served at Guantanamo Bay with it's waterboarding skills.

[@Dweller415]

“Like a tortilla chip in salsa” 😂😂😂

[@rhuttrho88]

"Dipping sauce " never gets old!!!😆😅😅😅🤣🤣😂😂🤗😉🤨

[@ExplorationEverything]

Some light hearted goofy commentary to go along with the “dark side” of birding

[@ThomasNesbitt-t6p]

2:50 The bird thinks that chipmunk is a Tortilla chip

[@ValensBellator]

Yeesh that’s pretty horrific. I didn’t realize they ate rodents that large.

[@Le_Voyageur00]

2:39 Heron : you are dirty, take a bath Squirel : 💦💦💦💦🥶

[@ExplorationEverything]

That’s one way to get clean 😅

[@ultimatez1]

This hungry pterodactyl...😂😂 Great video.

[@ExplorationEverything]

@@ultimatez1 thanks! Definitely felt like I was watching a miniaturized dinosaur documentary in the making

[@bobsmith6544]

LOL those Canadian honkers in the background noise look more like dinos.

[@coolguy2359]

1:50 aww the blue herion and the squirrel are good friends ❤😊

[@Freddy78909]

Wow totally unexpected. For some reason the idea of the Heron eating fish doesn't bother me but the poor squirrel 😢

[@ExplorationEverything]

If snakes, lizards, and fish had vocal chords we’d probably feel for them too. It’s the only time I’ve seen this happen so far though.

[@litepaw7]

@BleddedMoonfish DO have feelings

[@theworthysoul]

@BleddedMoonfish do have feelings though?

[@177SCmaro]

Dinosaurs didn't go extinct, they evolved.

[@ExplorationEverything]

@@177SCmaro That's right! Dinosaurs didn't entirely disappear-they evolved, particularly theropods, which were the ancestors of modern birds. So in a way, dinosaurs are still flying around today! It’s fascinating to think that creatures like hawks or sparrows share a lineage with those ancient giants.

[@DaxRandalman]

People are all fine with the circle of life when it comes to animals, until they realize that it might apply to them 😂

[@ExplorationEverything]

@@DaxRandalman We're all interconnected within the flow of energy that sustains the biosphere👍🏼🍀

[@Geezer1955]

Wow! We have a blue heron here at the lake every year, love watching this bird fish. I had no idea they hunted on land! Great video!

[@ExplorationEverything]

It’s one of the cooler birds to come by, especially when they’re hunting! Even when it’s just fish, they have some of the largest catches I’ve seen. Thanks for watching! I have a video of one eating a sting ray coming soon from a recent hike.

[@user-vp1sc7tt4m]

Small mammals may be why the dinosaurs (raptors) survived.

[@ahwayzcool4630]

"The Heron dips the chipmunk in water like a tortilla chip in salsa" LMAO

[@williamsanders2439]

So long, Simon! 😂

[@W0UND3AD]

Adios Alvin!🫡😭🤣

[@Shogun1982]

Ta-ta, Theodore! 👋🏾

[@drinkinglotsofsoda]

Girl squirrel (freeze at 2:16)

[@Yabbagabbagool]

Really appreciating that the Heron cannot dip me in water and shake me all about.

[@richardcosta3504]

As Rudy Mancke, the late, great naturalist from South Carolina explained situations like this…the heron was just recycling squirrel into heron.

[@toonpacha2396]

*Mahito in the background*: If you were hungry I could’ve made us something!

[@porcupine73]

That was fascinating to watch. Great video quality and nice narration.

[@ExplorationEverything]

Thank you very much! It’s not something one encounters often haha

[@peabase]

When we lived in Holland, I saw a duckling go down a grey heron's hatch. Being a kid, I felt terrible about it, because we always fed the ducks in the canals. Now I'm feeding squirrels, but fortunately there are no herons feasting on them.

[@ExplorationEverything]

@@peabase It's tough to witness nature in action like that, especially as a kid! Herons are such opportunistic hunters, but it's good to hear your squirrels are safe for now. It’s amazing how ecosystems work-each animal playing its role, even if it’s hard for us to see sometimes. Keep enjoying your time with the squirrels!

[@peabase]

@@ExplorationEverything Tell me about it. Our neighbour dug on pond in his garden. Shortly after he'd filled it with gold fish, a heron decided that buffet was open. I'm afraid the squirrels are upset with me after I felled and old and creaky juniper in the garden. I should've consulted them beforehand.

[@yoimmablob]

Beautiful birds, beautiful footage!

[@ExplorationEverything]

Many thanks! The birds and their behavior are fascinating to watch

[@CheikoSairin]

Amazing Great Blue Heron Eats Screaming Squirrel Observation Footage. A big LIKE for the video. I'm a new friend here. Greetings from Singapore.👍🔔

[@ExplorationEverything]

Thank you very much! Glad you liked it. Singapore looks like a beautiful place to visit one day. Very abundant in nature!

[@ElMalo76901]

😂😂😂 love the chip and salsa reference

[@ExplorationEverything]

Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching

[@cmw12]

Little guy is eventually like, “Ok, fine. Fuck it. Just do it already.”

[@ExplorationEverything]

Just gotta go with the flow. The GBH is way too op vs the squirrel

[@oBuLLzEyEo1013]

What is the bite force on these things. I have seen many videos of herons eating and they always have their prey in the very tip of their beaks and no matter how much thrashing it does it never gets loose...

[@parrotsarnoso1099]

Nice video. Mr. Heron should come to my midwest town, every tree is full of squirrels !...bon apettit !!

[@ExplorationEverything]

I’m sure he’d enjoy the all you can eat buffet! It’s been eating mostly fish recently since there aren’t much squirrels at the park at the moment

[@RenaMoonn]

True classic right here. Just a dinosaur eating a mammal

[@ExplorationEverything]

Luckily sapiens came way after the time those giants lived haha

[@Jul-66]

...*eating a synapsid.

[@RenaMoonn]

@@Jul-66 Mammals are a group of synapsids that lived during the age of the dinosaurs. After all, one of the core dogmas of phylogeny is that you can’t outgrow your ancestry. I get that there were still some non-mammal synapsids still around, but that doesn’t mean the mammal ones didn’t exist yet

[@Jul-66]

@@RenaMoonn Of course not, _we_ are synapsids! Conodonts, IIRC. I just love that word; "synapsid"! Sorry, diapsids!

[@RichardCheese-o2m]

"The rainstorm and the river are my brothers, the heron and the otter are my friends..." - Some Disney guy

[@VinMar-m6w]

And we are all connected to each other In a circle, in a hoop that never ends!

[@wintersun398]

amazing photography

[@ExplorationEverything]

Thanks a lot! I’ll try to keep on improving

[@kanders7391]

Cranes also hunt a lot of lizards & snakes. They stalk farm fields inland, where there are no bodies of water, especially when the harvesters are running. In the central valley in California they follow right behind the combine harvesters picking off reptiles that get exposed as the crops are cut. There can be 20 or 30 cranes behind a harvester as it’s running. Almost right up under it.

[@zach11241]

It went from a ground squirrel to a drowned squirrel real quick

[@itsstheo]

underrated comment

[@Freespeech89]

Heron is like "hey vegan's watch this"!

[@DreadEnder]

Looking at your channel I was expecting a million or so subs but wow you’re underrated.

[@ExplorationEverything]

Thanks! Maybe one day… Still gotta lots of room to grow and animals to learn about. I just gotta up the enthusiasm with my voiceovers 😂 people get really picky about free content

[@DreadEnder]

@@ExplorationEverything yeah. I’m trying to do more professional videos but I get stage fright in front of a piece of silicone.

[@ExplorationEverything]

@@DreadEnder I feel ya on that 😂 You just gotta start putting yourself out there. You may get roasted but it’s mostly from people who don’t even film. Follow my gram @artzerphotog and I can check out your photo/videography if you’re posting!

[@DreadEnder]

@@ExplorationEverything I don’t have instagram sorry. But it’s a tempting offer.

[@ExplorationEverything]

Well, if you ever make an account or KZbin just lmk!

[@rickkaylor8554]

Lindo Lake does have a large bird population. I got there fairly often on walks around the lake. They recently completed the second lake and it has a really nice trail that goes around it. This is a real urban park gem.

[@ExplorationEverything]

It's quite the gem indeed as well as one of my favorite places to go birding in San Diego, since it's so convenient and lesser explored by the birding community here. Great breeding grounds for many birds too

[@jarhead6153]

If this is Lindo Lake, I use to live right around the corner on Beechtree St in the early 2000’s….beautiful area, nice vid, thanks.

[@ExplorationEverything]

Thanks! It sure is a nice part of San Diego county. The lake has been worked on and has ongoing renovations.

[@Walter-wo5sz]

We have a lot of sandhill cranes in my area. It's easy to imagine them as dinosaurs.

[@ExplorationEverything]

@@Walter-wo5sz that’s super cool for you! Those are amazing birds. I hope to see one soon

[@lionelhutz5137]

They do move in herds...

[@Jul-66]

We have them in NM, too (in the winter); also, that's because they technically _are_ dinosaurs.

[@onetruetroy]

Great Blue Heron, I saw that! You double-dipped the chip… munk.

[@ExplorationEverything]

@@onetruetroy gotta make sure the fur goes down smoothly 🐿️

[@Bart-nm9jn]

chip...munk was very clever! Props.

[@FERNANDOGONZALEZ-pb6re]

Beautiful camera work and brilliant information on all species.Marlin Perkins Sr.would have been very proud of you young man. Keep up the good work and my you prosper on all your endeavors.

[@ExplorationEverything]

Wow, thank you! That’s definitely a high bar to strive towards. I’ll keep on learning in the field and improving what I can share

[@chrislj2890]

Great camera work!

[@ExplorationEverything]

Thanks a lot! I’ll definitely have to practice more for better stability

[@krembryle]

After watching The boy and the heron I'm not surprised.

[@ExplorationEverything]

I still need to watch that movie! Hope you liked it

[@SeerDragon]

I’ve seen blue herons at a fishing pier on a trip at Wisconsin. Probably looking for fish unwanted by fishermen since it didn’t flee when my family approached it but gave it enough space. Beautiful bird.

[@joeperson4792]

Heron: my dinosaur ancestors are proud!

[@ExplorationEverything]

@@joeperson4792 very much so! 🦖

[@carefulconsumer8682]

".. like a totilla in red sauce..."

[@KishorTwist]

I saw that bird twice and wow! Majestic!

[@ExplorationEverything]

@@KishorTwist GBH are great looking birds. they’re one of my favorites.

[@mjleger4555]

The bird may have the intelligence to know that if the prey is wet, it goes down easier! Note that birds ALWAYS turn their prey around in their beak or bill, to swallow it head first, which enables the prey's legs to fold back naturally and the fur smooths naturally back towards the tail of the prey as it is swallowed. Predation is never pretty, but it is nature's way of controlling the numbers of the species, who, if they multiplied to extremes, would starve to death in competition for food to eat. Nature's food chain keeps numbers down to normal.

[@Ahlnie]

2:10 I've seen videos of pelicans doing this. Are they particularly intelligent as well?

[@ExplorationEverything]

I’m not 100% sure but they shouldn’t be as smart as herons since they tend to not do as much direct food manipulation but it could happen, maybe non-intentionally. Pelicans have been shown to work in groups to herd fish but less so on manipulating food before eating it since they tend to catch smaller fish that doesn’t require much more work to swallow.

[@Malcolm-r2q]

You know, I don't have a problem with the way they eat. I just wish they would stay out of my pond. They always get the goldfish I stock. Great video. Bridgeport Ohio.

[@dbsartcore]

Herons are the descendants of a bird group which called terror birds - the fearsome carnivores

[@WestWindReborn]

The big one i saw wasn't the great blue and i didn't see the catch but he caught a big anole that was dangling from his beak. As soon as i thought "is it dead or alive?" The lizard popped it's head up. Wasn't alive for much longer though.😊

[@ExplorationEverything]

That’s pretty cool! Even anoles are pretty hard to come across here. So that’s a cool sighting watching a heron go after one of them. The first animal I’ve seen a bird hunt was a western fence lizard 🦎

[@danielohkay]

I wouldn't say the chipmunk is on the "bottom of the food web". Chipmunks are opportunistic carnivores/predators too.

[@coleycole5344]

Beautiful bird

[@DWArgenti]

Great job with the camera!

[@ExplorationEverything]

Thanks! I had no tripod, so an awkward position kept the camera stable enough lol

[@Username-Nulled]

I thought the title said blue heroin for a second.

[@socalpal8416]

We could certainly use a few of these Herons here in North County! Nice vid.

[@ExplorationEverything]

Some herons would do well fending the squirrels from the garden here too… thanks for watching!

[@mah7961]

We got these black herons that hang out at our neighborhood at night here in texas. These birds are like ninjas when sneak around. But they then to make a loud squawking noise if you accidentally get too close. Notice this while I was night riding on my bicycle.

[@alanalda9686]

One day you're the predator, next day the prey. That's mother nature

[@ExplorationEverything]

It’s quite the messy web but it has its beauty

[@forkoffgoogle]

They dunk ducklings too and ducklings can hold their breath underwater for a while. It's to make them easier to swallow. Herons usually kill their prey by snapping the neck or spine. They will also swallow their prey alive.

[@RagingMoon1987]

Do herons regurgitate pellets like owls do?

[@ExplorationEverything]

Yes they do! Herons regurgitate pellets of indigestible matter like the fur or shells or their prey. It’s not much of a dry hairball like some owl pellets but more so a nasty barf😂 at least from what I’ve seen. I was watching one walk around the park recently and it regurgitated the shell of a crayfish it ate earlier that day.

[@RagingMoon1987]

@@ExplorationEverything Okay, thanks! I had no idea.

[@tedmich]

beautiful birds herons, I've never seen one eat anything but fish and frogs. When they nest they do an amazing display that sounds a bit like a chainsaw! Its wild for such an otherwise silent bird.

[@ExplorationEverything]

Herons are some of the coolest birds in my opinion. They hunt so efficiently pulling huge fish compared to similar sized birds like the great egret. I’ve seen one swallow a sting ray recently but not a frog…yet.

[@Luluthebluemoon]

some say you can still hear the squirrel screaming in its gut

[@ExplorationEverything]

(Faint squeaks from the herons belly) It was quite the brutal scene 😅

[@ronbdallas]

Great photos and video.

[@ExplorationEverything]

Thank you! Have a great day🫡

[@savedfaves]

The heron didn’t appear to dip him to drown him, but for swallowing purposes. He killed him by choking and shaking him.

[@KorbenHuenink]

Dinosaurs don't exist anymore What the squirrel saw:

[@ExplorationEverything]

They’re all too real for the small animals still 😅

[@PappyNet01]

whoa! I was shocked that that big bird didn't fly away when the people and their dog strolled past. I live in Florida and they always fly away whenever I happen to walk nearby the runoff ponds behind our home.

[@ExplorationEverything]

It might be because this bird lives by this county park that’s heavily trafficked with pedestrians and skateboarders. It could be used to people or just focused on getting a nice meal. Herons by the beach/estuaries tend to be much more wary of my presence.

[@trashrat8365]

the irony is that actual pteranodons are closer to modern lizards than birds, i’d compare herons to raptors- they were probably just as brainy too!

[@dave9351]

Certainly not an ornithologist, but it seems more apparent that the Heron is lubricating the ground squirrel to go down easier ? Raccoons some folks think "wash their food", actually do the same thing. Great video.

[@warrenleezy]

I once watched a GBH eat 3 gophers! 😅😂😅

[@ExplorationEverything]

In one sitting? That’s crazy😅 the GBH wanted a generational meal

[@DontCryAboutIt]

Good on you to call out the people with loud vehicles.

[@ronaid-with-an-i]

Squirrels in nature have always seemed like a strange case to me

[@ExplorationEverything]

@@ronaid-with-an-i they’re interesting little critters. This was a brutal end even though they’re common prey in the SoCal food web

[@jrviade85]

3:38 "check off its " to do list" 😅😅😅😅

[@ugn154]

Heron: Give it to us RAW and WRIGGLING 🤤

[@Charlie-502]

Does it stab the squirrel with it's beak or grab it? I couldn't tell.

[@jyoster6447]

While I can certainly believe the claim of submerging the prey to drown them, it seems the heron was not doing it for that purpose. It seems the intent was to get the squirrel wet so that the fur doesn't get in the way and make it harder to hold. Clever bird.

[@JClaus1221]

Once a dinosaur, always a dinosaur.

[@ExplorationEverything]

@@JClaus1221 That's right! Dinosaurs didn't entirely disappear-they evolved, particularly theropods, which were the ancestors of modern birds. So in a way, dinosaurs are still flying around today! It’s fascinating to think that creatures like hawks or sparrows share a lineage with those ancient giants.

[@pamelaforrest1622]

Great Blue Heron's are beautiful birds

[@Swooop9530]

Cool video. That is surprisingly small for Great Blue Heron. At least compared to those around the Great Plains.

[@ExplorationEverything]

Oh really? That would be cool to see some even larger herons since they’re so big already. It’s funny that they only weigh around 5-7 lbs

[@SoFloDamien]

Pass the guac and hot sauce please. Well done. Beautiful heron