Red Mudbug Hanging Out With Friend - a photo on Flickriver

            Crawdads are pretty good every once in a while, but these guys eat them all day, every day... :)
This Yellow-crowned Night Heron ate so many of these in just a very short time that I lost count, and that is just while I was there, they can hold a lot! They are not a fast and furious eater like the Little Blue Heron, who eats a lot more, and more often than the YCNH, but I guess the YCNH makes up in size and weight that it eats instead. I really can't remember if I ever saw one of these eat a frog, or anything else, I am sure it would, but its main diet is just plain ol' every day crawdads, all day long.

This shot was one of the many that I took while I stayed at the VCDB marsh that had a lot of action when it had water, now that it's drying up some, that action is wavering, to a point of no action at all.

This was the 'prettiest' crawdad that I saw, I did see some that were as red, but not with a large claw set as this guy did, I say "did" because he has already been de-pincered on one side, and the heron is already on the other. When I was a kid I hunted crawdads all of the time, we would find some huge ones too, but not once did I ever see a red one with a red-speckled claw. :) The really large ones were always blue, not red.

It was super hot while I was shooting all of the times that I have been there taking pictures of all of the wildlife, but I think it was really worth it. I would sit in the shade and shoot, other places I don't have that luxury, but this place is a world within a world to me, I actually forget that only 300 yards to the South is a busy street.

 Please View in Larger Size for better Viewing

Taken at Village Creek Drying Beds (VCDB) in Ft. Worth.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea)
Red Swamp Crayfish  (Procambarus clarkii)

Taken in: United States / Texas / Arlington (show map)

Taken on: July 24, 2015

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Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II, f/8.0, 1/800 sec, 400mm, ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Lens:	EF400mm f/2.8L IS USM
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/800)
Focal Length:	400mm
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Manual
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS5 Windows
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