Friday, November 20, 2009

Darter swallows up slippery catch



Australasian Darter (Anhinga novehollandiae) shows how to go about catching a fish after catching a fish at Tyto today. Not as easy as it looks.







But all's well that ends swallowed.


18 comments:

Andy said...

WOW!
What a great sequence you captured...stunning.

mick said...

Wow indeed! Plus I had a chuckle over it all - all that effort and juggling for one small fish!

Mosura said...

Well done! A great catch for both of you.

Snail said...

That bird makes juggling a catfish seem like a doddle! I think I'll leave it to the experts.

Great sequence.

Boobook said...

Great series. I wonder how many they need in one day.

Boobook said...

And how did he find that fish under all the azolla (or whatever that pondweed is)?

Tyto Tony said...

Thanks Andy.

Even more effort than you'd think, Mick: 30-40 or so juggles.

Thanks Alan.

Hi Bronwen: Don't think catfish would be on Darter's menu. Bit spiny, aren't they?

Hi Boobook: Seems enough light gets through for Darters and Cormorants to see fish. The pool is only knee-deep.

Denis Wilson said...

Hi Tony
.
At the risk of giving you a swollen head, Tony, let me add my congratulations, too.
Great sequence.
.
I always thought they swallowed fish head first, to deal with the spines.
.
Seemingly not!
Cheers
Denis

Tyto Tony said...

Hi Denis: Head-first usually, but not so vital if fish lacks dorsal spines, as seems case with swallowed species (whatever it is: fish, like many things in nature, are largely a mystery to me).

Gouldiae said...

Great set Tony.
Sort of thing I'd feel lucky to see with the naked eye, let alone get some shots of - brilliant.
Gouldiae.

Larry said...

What an incredible series Tony. I love that second shot, by itself you might think the fish got away but not today.

jason said...

Exceptional! And you had it right: how to catch a fish after catching a fish. Great photos!

Gunnar Engblom said...

I join in with the congratulations of this great sequence. Good work.

Gunnar Engblom, Lima, Peru

Jan Axel & Gloriela said...

W O W !

Tyto Tony said...

Thanks a lot, Jason, Gunnar and Jan.

flowergirl said...

Yes, they do that a lot dont they?! Wonderful birds to photograph and also just look at.

By the way, is that red stuff the azolla fern?

Do check out my darter sries when you have the time and inclination!

http://madraswanderer.blogspot.com/2009/02/bird-that-craved-for-ramp.html

Tyto Tony said...

Hi flowergirl: Indeed it is azolla. Liked your Darter series and its tailpiece of pictures showing fish on way to being swallowed.

Jason Kessler said...

Excellent!

Head up for dragonfly, head off for fish head . . .

One moment it's dragonfly trying to dance on White-bellied Sea-Eagle's head, the next it's all go for fisher's discarded fis...