The Fight of its life: Snake vs Chinese Pond Heron

A patient hunting Chinese Pond Heron caught my eye on the mudflat. 

Suddenly it picked up something from the mud. At first I thought it was a mudskipper.

When the heron had trouble pulling it out, I realized it was something more exciting than a mudskipper.

In fact, it was a snake!

While the heron may have been pleased with its catch, the snake, on the other hand, wasn’t prepared to give up its life without a fight.

It managed to get away from the heron a couple of times.

However, the heron wasn’t going to let its catch go easily either. Then, unexpectedly, the snake became very aggressive.

I thought the snake was going to attack the heron, but all of a sudden it did a runner!

Unfortunately for the tough snake, the heron seemed determined to get its meal.

The snake fought even harder to get away.

Finally, it looked as though the snake had lost its battle. 

As soon as the heron tried to swallow it, 

astonishingly (to both me and the heron), the snake fought back again and tried once more to flee! 

This time, however, the snake’s fate was sealed.

Even inside the heron’s mouth, the struggle didn’t stop. Sadly, it was not the snake’s day.   

The heron had its meal at last, 

and a well “deserved” rest. 

 The fight lasted for 6 minutes.

Last of the Summer Insects

The weather is cooling and the insects are disappearing fast.  They may be more difficult to find now but it doesn’t mean that they are less interesting.

I find these tiny mantises very entertaining. 

Actually they are nymphs of Praying Mantis and may have just hatched as I later saw this egg containing capsule (or Ootheca which can contain up to 400 eggs) nearby. 

This small one is a nymph of another species

(Spilomantis occipitalis).

Since the mantises do not have any chemical protection on their body,  they have to use camouflage to avoid being preyed on. These young Jeweled Flower Mantises blend in so well with the plant leaves that I almost missed them on several occasions.  

The adult is prettier but is not easy to spot either. 

Grasshoppers, however, are plentiful at the moment,

much to this Golden Orb-Web Spider’s delight.