In For The Kill

I'm mixing things up a little today having posted street shots most of this week I decided to share a couple of wildlife pictures.

Still in France for these pictures of a beautiful heron. I had gone hoping to walk around the gardens of the palace of Versailles. I knew that the gardens are normally open without having to pay to go through the chateau  and to avoid the queues I had walked around to the side entrances where there are grand stone staircases leading up past the orangery. Sadly because of the terrorist threat the entrances were closed and padlocked and so I didn't get to walk the gardens on this trip.

Instead of queuing up I went across the road to walk around some parkland with an ornamental lake and a nice view of the chateau. Part way round I spotted this heron and tried to get a coupe of shots but it was a bit too far away. But patience paid off because a bit further round I saw it again and this time I was able to get much closer and I watched it carefully stalking some prey. It was clear that it was eyeing up something tasty and so I had my camera ready and captured the moment that it struck. When it brought its head back up I was expecting to see a frog or toad clasped in its powerful beak. I was surprised to see it was a rodent, perhaps a vole or maybe a small rat I can't be sure. Whatever it was it quickly flipped it up into its gullet and swallowed it whole. In the second image you can maybe make out the slight bulge in its neck as its lunch is working its way towards its stomach.

The third shot is a simple close up of the magnificent head an its shiny eye. 

I was disappointed to  miss out on the palace gardens but these shots help make up for that to some extent.