Inexperienced.

It was interesting to watch this young Darter trying to swallow a Trout he had just caught. He instinctively knew what to do but had just misjudged the size.


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Normally a catch, throw and swallow is completed in a few seconds and can be hard to shoot. In this case he nearly made it as above but just failed due to the size of the fish. He got progressively tired with the weight, struggling to keep his head above water.
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Finally after about five minutes he brought the fish ashore and after a brief resr tried again.
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It was hard to get a clear shot through the reeds but as you can see the debris from our recent floods didn't improve the meal's appeal!
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This went on for a further 10-15 minutes and he went back into the water a couple of times to clean up his catch.
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At which point I got a call for coffee and took a final shot of him coming ashore yet again looking exhausted and staring at the fish as if to say " I don't want to give up but just what else can I try?"
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Great reportage, Peter.
Hopefully the hunter figured out a way of feeding off its catch. or if not, presumably another grateful diner would have enjoyed the bonus left-overs.

Thanks Michele, Joe and Sashi. In watching this saga unfold on and off for the best part of 30 mins I certainly had the opportunity to get plenty of shots, the hard was making a selection to tell the story!!

Great series with a funny story! TFS

Nice pictures and story

Poor bird and lucky photographer.