Egretta novaehollandiae

1 White-faced Heron at Campbell, ACT

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Identification history

	Egretta novaehollandiae	5 Feb 2020	natureguy
	Egretta novaehollandiae	2 Feb 2020	BIrdsinCanberra

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User's notes

It may have been a juvenile bird given the lack of white on the face. The heron flew from across the other side of the river and landed carefully in the shallow water almost in front of me, where upon it started moving slowly parallel to the shore. After a step or two, its head started to lower, while its pace slowed. Suddenly, its head shot forward into the water, which splashed up with the contortions of a fish fighting to escape. (The three related photographs capture this action with the fish just visible as a dark, short line in the water to the left of the heron.) The heron steadily turned to shore, walking up onto the sand. It appeared to try to turn the fish around in its beak before it dropped the fish on the sand. The heron then pecked at the fish before picking it up and dropping it again. The bird did this a few times before the pecking got stronger. Eventually, it picked the fish up and flew off a little further down the river from me but on the same side.