Tag Archives: Townsend’s vole

Weak and Soft-hearted

Posted on by

A great blue heron catches a Townsend's vole in its beak at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

A great blue heron catches a Townsend's vole in its beak at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

I have mixed feelings watching herons hunt for voles, on the one hand I’m fascinated by the patience and then swiftness of their attack. But my soft heart feels for the little mammals when I see their struggle and hear their panicked shrieks in the last desperate moments of their lives. And even though the ordeal lasts but a few seconds, in pictures their stares and cries haunt me in perpetuity.

In consolation, from what I’ve read voles don’t usually live more than a year anyway, so perhaps the herons aren’t shortening their lives that much. At least it helps me sleep at night. ;)

A great blue heron catches a Townsend's vole in its beak at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

A great blue heron catches a Townsend's vole in its beak at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Revenge of the Dinosaurs

Posted on by

Close-up view of a great blue heron swallowing a Townsend's vole at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

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.