I just birded around some of the Waukesha area today with the snowy-misty weather. I stopped at a couple places in Waukesha along the Fox River and the highlight was a Herring Gull eating a Rock Base that it had just captured. I’m not sure how it actually got the fish but I can assume it dove for it. When I saw the Herring Gull on the ice at waters edge, the fish was still flopping around. The gull stabbed the Rock Bass very many times to finally kill it while taking bites in between. It took quite a few stabs to really put this fish out! When it appeared to be finished eating the fish for the time being, it rinsed the fish in the river, what was left of it and set it back on the ice, maybe for later. At the end of the event, the gull went in for a drink. It was misting out with 32 degrees during the event with gray skies. Images were taken on February 20, 2019
*Some images could be graphic*
Herring Gull stabbing the Rock Bass when I approached…
Turning the fish over…
Taking a few steps with the fish as it had slide towards the water…
Going to set the fish down…
Tail of the fish still moving…
A bite to eat here…
Taking a couple of bites…the tail still moving…
More bites…
Here, pulling something off to eat…
Eating some of the good stuff in side, some of the entrails…
More good stuff…
And more good stuff…
Picking up the fish and taking it over to the water for a rinse…
Just before the rinse…
The rinse…
Then back up on the ice…
Then a short walk to set it down…
Setting the fish down…
At the end, the gull goes in for a drink…
What a feast for the gull!
Great series of photos with an interesting story!!