A steady gaze into the shallows, silent footsteps that barely stir the surface of the water, straight unflinching posture that perfectly mimics a tree limb;  all this followed by a lightning fast smooth strike that snatches the clueless fishy from the warm shallows.  That’s the way we are used to watching Great Blue Herons feeding.  It is like a ballet.

But, they have another approach.  Here at Lake Rayburn they perch on stumps in deep water.  The same practiced gaze locates their prey then they flop into the water, wings flailing, grab the fish, and struggle back onto a nearby stump with their quarry.  Not graceful at all but pretty effective.