Many people seem shocked by the idea that birds might have descended from a line of dinosaurs that didn’t die out with the rise of the little furry mammals. Spend some time watching herons take their revenge on those little furry mammals and the idea doesn’t seem so far-fetched.

This great blue heron had the most efficient hunting streak I’ve ever seen, I saw it strike the ground six times and catch something every time. Three times it caught a Townsend’s vole like the one it’s swallowing here, three times Pacific treefrogs. The little treefrogs hardly seemed worth the effort but I’ve seen herons catch them many times.