The Grey Herons Appetite For Rats.

wildirishswan

This Grey Heron regularly hunts Rats along Dublin Cities river banks. Here is a video i shot capturing this event.


VIDEO LINK........... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDwJyt5JhzY

kildare.17hmr

seen them at it a few times on the canal around kildare durin the snow too, couldnt believe it when i saw it first! great video fair play

BargainHunter

Fantastic piece of video, Wildirishswan. Well done!

Was it shot with a regular camcorder or a more professional video camera? The video quality is excellent.

Judgement Day

Great video but it looks a dicey meal if the rat was still alive when swallowed.

Birdnuts

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

seen them at it a few times on the canal around kildare durin the snow too, couldnt believe it when i saw it first! great video fair play

Even better is the fact that young mink are also on the menu:)

wildirishswan

BargainHunter wrote: »

Fantastic piece of video, Wildirishswan. Well done!

Was it shot with a regular camcorder or a more professional video camera? The video quality is excellent.

Thank you, it was shot using a mini dv camcorder.

magicbastarder

i was just discussing with someone recently about what impact the disappearance of non-native species such as rats would have on predators such as raptors (and now herons, it seems); does anyone know how much of their diet rats would entail?

wildirishswan

magicbastarder wrote: »

i was just discussing with someone recently about what impact the disappearance of non-native species such as rats would have on predators such as raptors (and now herons, it seems); does anyone know how much of their diet rats would entail?

I have seen a Heron catch and eat a full grown adult Rat and moments later it went hunting for another. I have watched one particular Grey Heron hunt for a Rat or Rats everyday... it was not always successful.

I think a proper study should be done.

wildirishswan

Birdnuts wrote: »

Even better is the fact that young mink are also on the menu:)

That would be a sight.

Mothman

Many years ago on the farm, there was a Heron. I saw it most days over a period of a month or more. Always near a hedgerow...nowhere near water.

Had me puzzled until one day I stumbled across it with a large rat

trebor28

great vid, nearly got sick at the thoughts of it.

looked like the heron was having second thoughts too just after swallowing it.

Antiquo

Well caught and good vid.

I've a couple of herons that come by who have a taste for goldfish, Koi and frogs. Now if I could get them off these and into rats...

Cardynal

Well captured , Great video.
Saw one struggle with a rat on the Barrow once for about 10 mins , super birds.

snowstreams

Great video. I wonder are heron populations a lot bigger than they used to be in the past? And as a result they are widening their diets?
Its great to see them so regularly but I hope they dont get a bad reputation from game keepers.
I know of one man who rears a few ducks. He was saying that a lot of his young ducklings go missing when the heron is around.
So he ended up shooting one, to find about 8 ducklings inside in his stomach!
Are herons a protected species? I was surprised to hear that they could eat so much ducklings.

boneless

Herons are very predatory and opportunistic birds. I have seen them take rats, frogs, duckling, young moorhens and such. A friend of mine has spotted them feeding on road kill as well.

JJayoo

Cool vid, would never have thought the heron could swallow something so big

snowstreams

boneless wrote: »

Herons are very predatory and opportunistic birds. I have seen them take rats, frogs, duckling, young moorhens and such. A friend of mine has spotted them feeding on road kill as well.

They're a bit like maribou storks so, in the way that they will eat anything!
There very handy to have as a top predator so.