LATEST IMAGES - ROMANIA10
During my trip to the Danube Delta, Saker tours offered the use of a floating hide. I wasn't keen to use it as such but I did use it on a small muddy area next to the river as a lying down hide. The low angle is a definite plus for photography but the four hours lying flat and keeping still is extremely uncomfortable. I was certainly hoping for waders and perhaps something unusual but I certainly wasn't expecting what happened. A Grey Heron landed on the edge of the mud and stayed in its usual statuesque pose until suddenly running across the mud and grabbing a large Grass Snake. The Heron then took around 10 minutes to eat it, first it dropped the snake to get rid of the weed and then tried to pick it up head first so it could swallow it. The snake tried to swim away but kept getting caught until eventually the Heron ate it. What was even more remarkable was that Mike Lane went in the hide the following day and witnessed exactly the same. Before and after the Heron I was treated to a number of different species feeding in the mud and along the edge of the river, a great if uncomfortable experience that I wish I had enough time to repeat.
GREY HERON
GREY HERON WITH GRASS SNAKE
GREY HERON WITH GRASS SNAKE1
GREY HERON EATING GRASS SNAKE
GREY HERON IN FLIGHT
LITTLE EGRET
RUFF ON PASSAGE
RUFF ON PASSAGE1