Thursday, January 8th, was a busy fishing day for many species of birds at Sutters Landing Park on the American River!
Common goldeneye, Double-crested cormorants & Common mergansers looking things over.
Gulls spend most of the day on the river pirating from diving fish hunters.
Osprey, another fishing expert, flew in from up river!
Blue heron rapidly flew in from down river when the action intensified!
The heron took a spot close by on the bank. I couldn’t focus on it through
tree branches and missed its catch of a sizable fish which I saw going down that looong throat!
tree branches and missed its catch of a sizable fish which I saw going down that looong throat!
A female merganser just caught a big fish (top left)! At times when the flock was in swift pursuit of fish I could hear the water churning far away. That's when herons, egrets & gulls gather close by on the banks.
She’s got the fish by its head. See it’s dorsal & pectoral fens?
I could see just enough of the bright yellow belly and fins to make me think she caught a bluegill.
She held on to this large fish, keeping her back to the others & me.
Just what the gulls were waiting for!
She’s still got it, barely!
As the gull closes in, she lost it!
Was it just too large?
She dove for it again but I lost sight after that.
The fishing party ended when dogs chased the Blue heron from the banks.
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