on a grey, cold and foggy day.

The Northern Pike, a ferocious predatory fish, became the prey.

The low water level in the Sturgeon River means that it is easy to spot the Great Blue Herons out and about catching fish in the shallow water.

Bright and early one morning in July, I met up with my birding friend, Ivan D. and we were privileged to be able to observe and photograph this heron fishing for breakfast at fairly close range. This heron's fishing skills were amazingly impressive. Within a span of one hour, it caught three pikes. Each time, it promptly swallowed the unfortunate fish head first - all in one go.

Nikon D500 w/ 500mmf4G + 1.4X

(Taken on: July 31, 2021, Sturgeon River, St. Albert, Alberta, Canada.)

Copyrighted. All rights reserved. No unauthorized use.

Thank you all very much for the visits and comments.

stoat, ermine or short-tailed weasel

Hermelin, Großes Wiesel oder Kurzschwanzwiesel

[Mustela erminea]

wildlife

Già, un ragno giallo splendente; come a dire un predatore che più visibile di così non si può. Si tratta forse di un clamoroso errore del Sistema Naturale? O forse dell'Evoluzione? No, no, non è così: quei dispositivi non sbagliano mai. Il ragno è giallo perché gli stessi organi riproduttivi di molti fiori hanno lo stesso colore e l'insetto che visita il fiore lo confonderà con quelli ..... ..

This ringlet butterfly had unfortunately landed in this garden spiders web

grey heron

Graureiher oder Fischreiher

[Ardea cinerea]

This heron caught a goby.

____________________________________

If interested in more photographs of mine, please visit my website

www.natur-fotografie-kh.de

Sparrowhawk [Accipiter nisus] f.

This little beauty appeared at The Pixies just after I had re-filled all the bird feeders...All the usual little songbirds, blue-, great-, and coaltits, nuthatches and chaffinches, were having a feast when, suddenly, they all disappeared into the trees.

I was thrilled to have caught this image but the implications of her presence here are really quite chilling...Of course, she has to eat, too, but the wee birdies have absolutely no chance against these lethal talons and beak.

She left this perch very soon after arriving and the wee birdies soon resumed their eating and seed- and nut-gathering.

The Circle Of Life? Ambivalence and cognitive dissonance...

(I know it’s not a great shot - she was very high up in this tree )

At The Pixies

South Carrick Hills

SW Scotland

(edited)

I've struggled with the idea of posting this one

A beautiful bird but an unwelcome visitor to our garden

This was the aftermath we witnessed taking place a few days ago.

Sadly one of our little sparrows lost it's life before we witnessed this scene.

I understand we eat meat, so in theory I'm no different from this Sparrowhawk hunting it's prey

It's just so difficult to watch when for months on end the little sparrows who nested in our bushes, brought up what seemed like a multitude of offspring, fledged and continue to return to our feeders

We have grown so attached to their playful, funny characters

I'd certainly never make a wildlife photographer. Im in tears watching Frozen Planet 2

I'd want to try and save them all

Well, I also thought although not in flight I can capture images of birds (not the blurry variety)

Not crystal clear, taken through the kitchen window, which may have needed cleaning

It tells a story, if nothing else

We just hope he doesn't chose to do a return visit

youtu.be/E-sX2Y0W8l0

mit seiner Beute.

with his prey

A 3.175cm (1 .25") Praying Mantis eating a fly on a Gardenia jasminoides 'Kleim's Hardy' in my garden. These insects are notorious predators and their name is sometime mistakenly spelled ‘Preying Mantis’ which is incorrect.

The Venus Flytrap (dionaea muscipulae) attracts his prey (flies, insects) using sweet nectar. Touch a trigger hair twice, or two hairs in quick succession, and an electric charge closes the trap, its interlocking teeth forming a cage. The insect's continued struggles will cause the trap to seal, at which point digestive enzymes will dissolve the victim's soft tissues. The trap reabsorbs this nutritious soup, and - after about a week - reopens.

Westmoreland County, PA

Seagull with his/her landing gear down, approaching crisscrossed wire used as a detterent to keep birds away.

Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns (family Sternidae) and only distantly related to auks, skimmers and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed in the genus Larus, but that arrangement is now considered polyphyletic, leading to the resurrection of several general.

An older name for gulls is mews, which is cognate with German Möwe, Danish måge, Swedish mås, Dutch meeuw, Norwegian måke/måse and French mouette, and can still be found in certain regional dialects.

Gulls are typically medium to large birds, usually grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They typically have harsh wailing or squawking calls; stout, longish bills; and webbed feet. Most gulls are ground-nesting carnivores which take live food or scavenge opportunistically, particularly the Larus species. Live food often includes crustaceans, molluscs, fish and small birds. Gulls have unhinging jaws which allow them to consume large prey. Gulls are typically coastal or inland species, rarely venturing far out to sea, except for the kittiwakes. The large species take up to four years to attain full adult plumage, but two years is typical for small gulls. Large white-headed gulls are typically long-lived birds, with a maximum age of 49 years recorded for the herring gull.

Gulls nest in large, densely packed, noisy colonies. They lay two or three speckled eggs in nests composed of vegetation. The young are precocial, born with dark mottled down and mobile upon hatching. Gulls are resourceful, inquisitive, and intelligent, the larger species in particular demonstrating complex methods of communication and a highly developed social structure. For example, many gull colonies display mobbing behavior, attacking and harassing predators and other intruders.Certain species have exhibited tool-use behavior, such as the herring gull, using pieces of bread as bait with which to catch goldfish, for example.[ Many species of gulls have learned to coexist successfully with humans and have thrived in human habitats. Others rely on kleptoparasitism to get their food. Gulls have been observed preying on live whales, landing on the whale as it surfaces to peck out pieces of flesh.

Wikipedia

I appreciate your kind words of support and would like to thank-you all, for taking the time to view and acknowledge my photography.

~Christie (happiest) by the River

** Best experienced in full screen

bird:[Rezz Room] Box Eagle Adult Animesh @EQUAL10 maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/equal10/233/127/95

outfit:Art&Ko - Elizabeth Set @Enchantment

gloves:[ContraptioN] Dapper Dandy's Gloves

skin:.MILA. Stefy Skin @ TRES CHIC nov 17 - dec 10 maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tres%20Chic/153/162/74

blush add ons: Heaux

head:LeLUTKA Briannon Head 3.1 @Mainstore

hair:Magika - Hair - Let It Snow

Dartmoor Tree on a wet & windy morning. :-)

_DSF1473

Phoenix Zoo, Arizona

Wild South Africa

Kruger National Park

...in early morning sunlight.

PS - Not cropped-full frame

predator spine by Noble Creations(Men Only Event)

Zip Jacket by HOTDOG (Neo Japan)

B129 Hair by DURA

Waiting for prey...

The caterpillars of the silver-studded blue have a close relationship with ants! The ants protect the caterpillars from predators and parasites, in return they get to feed on a sugary substance that the caterpillars produce. When the caterpillars are ready to pupate, they do so in a shallow chamber just below the ground - often in ant nests. The ants will attend the pupa just as they did the caterpillar, and can even be seen swarming around the newly-emerged adult butterflies, offering them some protection as they wait for their wings to dry.

leopard out of the bush

Northern Shrike

For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything - Hebrews 3:4

Many thanks to all those who view, fav or comment my pictures. I very much appreciate it.