How a Snake Catches a Fish

As it was cool again this morning, I waited until late morning to go out.  There was quite a bit of activity on the  pond so I stood and watched for quite a while.  The Osprey was flying over, there were a pair of Kingfishers chasing each other, a Great Blue Heron was wading and hunting for fish and with all that, then the Green Heron came flying in.

I moved closer to the side of the pond where the GH had come in hoping for a better shot when a splash and quick movement caught my attention.  It took me a minute to figure out what I was seeing.  I knew this was going to happen so quickly and I didn't have time to make any adjustments on the camera or I would miss the shots.

The snake and fish were thrashing about.  I wish I had seen it from the beginning but I only caught it from once the snake had the fish.  After a bit of thrashing, the snake pulled the fish under.  The snake then swam around in circles for a bit.  It was odd seeing the top fin of the fish moving through the water like a mini jaws.

My first thought was a Red-bellied Watersnake however after looking closely at one of the shots, I see white under the jaw of the snake versus red.  Just not sure as I never got a really good look at the snake.  The snake finally made its way through the lily pads to the side of the pond.  I guess it slithered on land to settle down for its meal.











While on the subject of reptiles, this black snake was coiled up yesterday morning.  Temperatures had dropped down to upper 40's yesterday morning after a front that moved through late Friday.