Black-crowned Night Heron Click on any thumbnail to view a medium sized version of the selected image, or click on its title to download the largest available format (for print).   bcn heron 01 bcn heron 02 bcn heron 03 bcn heron 04 bcn heron 05 bcn heron 06 bcn heron 07 bcn heron 08 bcn heron 09 bcn heron 10 bcn heron 11 bcn heron 12 bcn heron 13 bcn heron 14 bcn heron 15 bcn heron 16 bcn heron 17 bcn heron 18 bcn heron 19 bcn heron 20 click "Play" to start the first video clip... click "Play" to start the 2nd video clip... see an immature bird practising it... Interesting Behavior Herons using bread as bait to catch fish On July 20,2008. Cecilia and I visited the KoOlina Golf Club to observe and photograph Black-crowned Night- Herons using bread as bait to catch fish. This interesting behavior was first reported by Carol Cox in September, 2007. We arrived at the golf course at 11AM and walked to the edge of an artificial pond adjacent to Roy’s restaurant. We observed four adult Black-crowned Night- Herons and two immature birds. In addition twenty-five Mallards, one Northern Pintail and twelve Black Swans shared the small pond with the Herons. Several people began throwing bread in the water close to the bank and we watched a immature Black-crowned Night-Heron go to the bread and begin to push it down deeper into the water repeatedly. It was apparent the Heron knew that the fish would come closer if it could submerge the "bait" low enough. After several seconds, the Heron caught a fish. In the span of ten minutes we watched the Heron repeat this fishing behavior successfully four times. We then threw some bread on the grass to see if the immature Heron would move it into the water. We watched the bird for thirty minutes and did see it pick up several pieces of bread and move it several feet and then drop it into the water and then catch a fish. At times the bird seemed disinterested or not quite expert at this method of fishing but that might be due to the fact it was full or because the twelve Black Swans were continuously stealing the bread or otherwise interfering with the Heron’s fishing behavior. We then tried to see if an adult Black-crowned Night- Heron also knew this fishing technique by placing several pieces of bread in the grass about two feet from the water’s edge. Within seconds, the adult Heron picked it up and dropped it into the water and subsequently caught a fish. The adult Heron seemed to be more proficient in getting the bread into the water. Hawaii Birding Tours    Reservations    Oahu Nature Tours    Phone:   808  924-2473 natureguide@oahunaturetours.com ©  Content and photos on this website can only be used with written permission from Oahu Nature Tours, Inc. Our photos are for sale as printed images and available for one time use for publications and other media.