Cold-blooded breakfasts

This morning I saw two hunters having their breakfast. One was somewhat expected; the other was a surprise.

I usually think that hawks eat rather large-sized prey (squirrels, voles, jays, and the like), but the truth is they eat just about whatever they can find. At first I thought this Red-shouldered Hawk was eating a frog. After all, it had just flown up from a stream to its “breakfast table.” But when I downloaded the pictures, I was surprised to see pincers. It had a crayfish.

In another assumption blown, I thought of the Hooded Mergansers we see on the pond were sweet, fluffy ducks. I assumed they ate insects and small fry. Nothing like the Great Blue Heron I saw last summer consuming a bullfrog.

Not any more.

I was watching as this male surfaced and started to prepare a rather large frog (relatively speaking) for breakfast. I took a large number of shots, but I think this gallery summarizes the action quite well.