Some great wildlife videos shot on the Dodder

Brendan Burgess

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While cycling along the Dodder, I often meet Paul Hughes who sits their for hours photographing foxes, or kingfishers or rats.

He has caught some stuff which is very rarely seen e.g. a Heron catching and swallowing a live rat.

[broken link removed]

Brendan
 
That is fantastic. I presume Mr Rat quietened down in the stomach! Must have been a lot of screeching! Liked the way he tried to drown him as well.

Was he sharpening his beak on the stone afterwards?

I saw two rats chomping on nuts on a bird feeder - not mine thankfully - a couple of weeks ago. They were as well fed as the lad in that video.

Pity there were no herons around!

Marion
 
The heron seemed to know what he was doing. The rat never got a chance to bite him. I presume a bite from a rat would be deadly to a bird?

He had him by the rear end at first, but the heron seemed to be able to flip him around by 90 degrees and then, he had him across the back. I think that the rat was pretty lifeless at that stage.

I did wonder what the heron was doing afterwards. Was he scraping some rat off his beak? Or just washing it. Maybe the rat did get in a bite before he died?

There is another one where he dispatches a duckling in similar manner. But it's much sadder.
 
Much as I dislike rats I had to turn the video off shortly after it started. Can't even bear to think about one with a duckling
 
Ugh, that was disgusting Brendan ! I just watched Sarah Benny's "Help, my house is infested". Bed bugs, rats, etc. The bed bugs were the worst, I haven't stopped scratching and I've just changed all the bedclothes and hoovered the hell out of the bed. Why oh why did I watch that program and why did I think watching that heron dispatch the rat was a good idea? Tho, I wonder, the rat was still alive going into the heron's tummy, and it does have claws etc... ugh images of Alien springing unwanted to my mind...
 
Hi Brendan,

Thanks for that...my dad was telling me about this guy only last week and I've forwarded him the website details now so he'll be delighted.

F.
 
Amazing footage!
Two things struck me, one; Its the first time Ive ever felt sorry for a rat.
And two ; wonder why the Heron kept dipping the rat in the water.
 



I just don't have the nerve to open the link after reading the above posts, I think I would feel quite ill if I did
 
I love the way the heron has a little drink of water after swallowing the rat, to wash him down presumably.
 
I have seen the heron at the back of Ashtons Bar opposite Beaver Row. Its a magnificent creature. Its amazing that there are some many animals and birds so near the city. ,
 
Watched the rat video but I cannot watch a duckling getting swallowed

I'm off to youtube for videos of cute puppies
 
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