Great Blue Heron gets a gopher then loses it to a hawk. 

I agree. It was a whole roller coaster ride.

Lol, I was expecting hawk to induce the vomit.

@@chetan_naik he did induced the heron to vomit. The heron seen the hawk coming and vomit up the gofer so it could fly away. The hawk might have been going after the heron and the decided on the easier meal.

Bo Lee didn’t know hawks preyed on herons

@@lawncee they do, so do eagles.

@@lawncee Red-Tailed Hawks. ... Though the red-tailed hawk usually eats small animals such as rodents and snakes, it is known to eat great blue heronhatchlings from the nest as well as young great blue herons

Christopher Helms underrated comment

He was dead already anyways

Still funny tho

Lol

@@iphonetrippy435 It was just a flesh wound... he was fine :-)

The worst day in the history of gophers :(

I mean, it's his last day, so yeah.

Interesting. But would the hawk have been able to kill a heron?

@@missasinenomine Very easily. Herons are ungainly fliers. had it tried to stand its ground the hawk wouldve fatally injured it. the heron knew it was better off just disgorging it and finding a new gopher. the slightest scratch to any bird is potentially fatal due to their intense blood pressure

@@marcusbullock630 Thanks for the info! "Intense BP?" I've never heard of that before. Only in a giraffe, on account of its long neck. On reflection, I suppose you're right. Long neck. Duh..........

@@missasinenomine all birds have immense blood pressure, a little nick over a major vein and they can literally bleed out from one single heartbeat. it's crazy

@@marcusbullock630 Never heard that before. And I've been a bird watcher for 50 years. Gone on several bird walks /talks & one holiday.

There's no way that hawk was going to attack the Heron. Who knows why the Heron coughed up the gopher but either way the hawk was there in time.

Yeah, I'd say you're correct. Kinda at a disadvantage when a Hawk is coming at him full pelt while he has a big fat gopher lodged halfway down his gullet.

The gofer wouldn't go down. If it could swallow it would. The redtail hawk was just angry the heron was hunting it's territory.

I am not expert in anyway to this, but it mostly looked like it got stuck on the Heron's throat and he had regurgitate it out. Too bad hawk was watching that situation and went for the easy prize that came out again.

They have a hinged neck bone so they can thrust the head forward very fast! Never help one as they go for your eyes!

As Terry said, they are very dangerous birds if you get too close. However, if they are hurt, you can help them as long as you always wear eye protection (face shield or goggles). They might still jab you in the hand, and it'll hurt, but you'll heal from that. You could also wear leather gloves. Don't be fooled into thinking you don't need protection because they're down. Remember that you might look silly with your goggles on, but it's only temporary. If you're unlucky, you could get to look like a silly pirate for the rest of your life. I've done wildlife rehab for about ten years in Ohio (still have two hands, two eyes, and ten fingers, too!). GBH's, snapping turtles, and white tail deer are the most dangerous non-rabies-vector animals we regularly care for. The deer get minimal care due to state laws and rabies-vector animals are off-limits for me.

Try grabbing your fingers with a pair of scissors... that’s what a beak does to a gopher.

ahaning help them? More like whack them in the head with a stick and BBQ them... bwerds are yum yum in my tum tum

@@ahaning I rescued a GBH and took it to a Birds of Prey center when I was a kid. I don't remember what his issue was but I do remember him being easy to catch. I think I just took a "control the head and then the wings" approach. Not sure if he made it on not but it's a top notch place.

minks will do a better job and they can fit into every hole Rodents go into

@@mikeef747 dude! Minks?!? They did that in in hawaii with mongoose's instead of rodent they go for the local birds. The only downside of herons is they only hunt at day time

@@datgreedymouse6860 I'm familiar with the failed Hawaiian Mongoose experiment, but keep in mind they are not native to Hawaii, and are in the superfamily feliforma (Cat-Like carnivore). Minks on the other hand are native to New York and therefore would not imbalance the ecosystem and rats already make up majority of their diet. Weasels (minks) are in the superfamily caniforma ("dog-like" carnivores). They look at lot a like but they are different than mongooses in behavior and diet, plus they're native to North America and in fact are very easy to train, check out the RU-vid channel "Joseph Carter the Mink Man"

@@mikeef747 they may be effective in suburban areas but having then in cities can also chamge theire nature. Instead on being pest control they will be pest themselves

@@mikeef747 im subscribe to the man 3years now i loved his channel, raptor is an awesome addition to the team dont you think so?

I heard they bowed to the heron.

😀😂😂🤣

They actually used to swallow us. It happened far back in the past, though, way before Homo Sapiens evolved.

Matteo Tamburrini I’m gonna need some pictures and video proof of this. If not then you’re just fakenews!

The Quetzalcoatlus

Sandia Delli Gatti there’s no proof what so ever showing that we as human beings were solely responsible for the extinction of these animals. Quit being stupid.

I've since learned that this is not the first time that the hawk and the heron have had encounters of this kind. There have been other skirmishes. A neighbor told me that the hawk chased the the heron out of the area in flight.

The heron thought the hawk was going to try and attack it and the gopher made it too front heavy to fly properly and the gopher hadnt been fully swallowed so the heron wasnt taking any chances

Punk dues

Kicking up

the Heron didn't even want it it was barf to him

Good question. I assumed it was the heron, but it could have been one of the crows that was hassling the hawk. Not a good spirit of community out there :)

Nah it was the Heron, he makes the sound a few times before he actually takes flight and you can see his hairs fluffing up, he was going to try to stand his ground but changed his mind quickly. LoL

@@craighamlet2863 Might be, but the heron and hawk were hassled by two crows , who also make such noises .

@@PAULLONDEN Yeah I know, the crows are after the hawk because he is near their nest. If you pay attention, the hawk spots the crows at a distance and he takes flight when he sees them coming.

Snakes do that aswell.

A friend had a heron hanging around his catfish pond. It killed a 3 pound catfish by stabbing it in the back of the head... and then left it. Didn't eat it.

Michael Starling what a f🤬in bird killing for fun.

That's what they always do, that's how they feed

Probably not from your stomach ...

@@sainisd sometimes!

Reminds me of the time I stole that elk kill from a grizzly

RipleySawzen Yeah you just have to charge them and let them know you’re not playing around.

@@AICaliceinchains ^^ This guy knows what's up

Yep pretty sure that's what it was!

rumpelstilchen he did have.

He did have the gopher in his claws...u must b blind

Hawk did have it. You have to pause at exactly the right point. The gopher is visible for just a fraction of a second before the hawk's tail obscures it.

the hawk did not have it. tip you can use . and , keys to watch frame by frame.

Nope, he saw the birds coming after him for being near their nest, so he decided to bounce.

It's probably best to not ascribe human logic and behaviors to other animals. We'll never know for sure what was really going on. Did he puke up the gopher as a peace offering to the hawk? As an involuntary fear reaction to the approaching hawk? Did he even know the hawk was there? Was the gopher too big and moving around too much in his stomach for him to keep down? Who knows. All that matters was that this was some great footage.

Thats because crows are assholes.

@@gabriels1163 They protect their own, like many other birds and animals =D

It was actually a simple point and shoot, Canon PowerShot SX 260 HS with 20x zoom. It was difficult to shoot and narrate, since I had to keep more focus on the screen of the camera to ensure that it captured what was happening, while watching the background at the same time.

Canon PowerShot SX260 HS It has a 20x optical zoom

bahahahahahaha

Thank you. This was taken from my porch at McInnis Park Apartments - San Rafael, CA. Great blue herons get around fairly well: www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/maps-range

McInnis Park Apartments - San Rafael, CA. That's San Pablo Bay to the right in the background.

Exactly!

@@jarnosaarinen4583 he was just saving the gopher.

Yeah until a worse killing machine shows up.

Charles Haines -it's very strange timing on this one. The Heron throws up the meal just as the hawk comes in and takes it after the throw up

@@condor5635 Herons don't appear to have any defense against a real bird of prey. They simply give it an offering and hope that distracts it while they fly away. A video exists on here of a heron relaxing in its nest at night. When an owl swoops in and takes it. In a few minutes, the owl comes back to eat the chicks. The parent . . . doesn't object. I wonder why the hawk didn't eat the carcass? And let the heron go? I could understand not wanting its food pre-barfed, but why not take the heron then? It must be that the hawk just didn't want the heron hunting in its territory. The heron gave the carcass back as a way to say, "My bad!"

Charles Haines - Charles Haines so you think the heron had seen this attack coming on and vomited the gopher as a way to distract the hawk and secure his get away? Heron looks surprised once he throws up food as to the hawks appearance to me..

@@condor5635 Yes. The heron looked up and stiffened (the camera zoom-shake is distracting) at 2: 00. This wasn't the way they lift their heads while swallowing something, either. No, its beak is barely inclined like its beak is a telescope and it's sighting something on the horizon. Then, it holds that position. At 2:04, it begins the barfing process, its feathers begin to spread and its neck begins to spasm. Yet, it keeps its head up until the very moment that it ejects the gofer. As soon as the heron does that, it raises its head checking on the hawk again. And then spreads its wings and flies off as the hawk arrives. Now, maybe just the fear made it barf. Maybe it couldn't fight effectively after a meal. But this behavior wouldn't only be with herons. Snakes do this, too. One video had a python regurgitating a leopard cub as the mother closed in on it. Surprising to me, it worked. The mother stopped and stared at her cub, apparently overcome with grief, while the snake slid away. How could you tell the bird was surprised? Herons have a face that's as blank as a snake, and It was sighting the hawk for at least six seconds. Since it didn't move its head as the hawk approached, it meant the hawk flew in a long incline toward the heron. Not the way hawks usually hunt, as I've heard.