Don't Choke!

  Herons are a gluttonous sort.  Although, I have observed them for years now, I never noticed just how much and what they will eat.  Since making friends with Moe, the (as my granddaughter call him) Bayou Ostrich, my opinion of the birds has changed from thinking they were picky eaters to thinking they are hogs at heart (or stomach).  Like any other heron, Moe fishes for himself until he sees me go to the pier.  When the net is picked up, he immediately flies to the pier and follows just a few steps behind me.  He seems grateful for whatever fish are caught and quickly gobbles them.  Mostly, these are the small menhaden but occasionally, a mullet, croaker or goby is tossed his way.

  This afternoon, Moe was waiting for me.  He acted ravenous but nary a fish could be found.  After nigh on twenty throws of the net, two rather large mullet were flopping on the pier.  This always sends Moe into a frenzy of excitement and he will run with wings flapping.  As soon as he stabbed the first mullet, a thought raced through my head.  "What if Moe chokes on that big, old mullet?"  Not being one to want to grab a heron and do the Heimlich Maneuver (I am not even sure if it could be performed on a bird!), I hoped that he would be ok.   My worries were soon calmed.  Moe made short work of the mullet....but THAT was the smaller of the two.   Would he be able to swallow the other fish?  That neck looked awfully skinny compared to the girth of the fish.  Since he had just downed one, where was he going to put this one???  The questions were soon answered as Moe scooped up the mullet, tossed it around a bit until it was head first in his beak and then let it slip down his throat.  Geez!  Moe, you are a gluttonous bird for sure!

  There have been accounts relating how herons have literally "bitten off more than they can chew". (Yes, I know that is not right...biting and chewing are not something herons do.)  Eels, snakes and large fish can get stuck in the throat of the heron.  If the bird is not successful at spitting the prey out, it will die.  Fish are especially hard for a heron to regurgitate,  A heron always swallows fish head first so the fins stay flat against the body but trying to get it back up works just the opposite.  The prongs of the fins stab into the neck and prevent passage back up the throat.  

  Moe had better watch his step and not grab the larger fish that I catch.  Food is needed to sustain life but gluttony may very well end that life.  Be careful there, Moe....be careful.  You need to leave the larger fish for me and stick with the little ones.