While reviewing my archived bird photos, I came across a series of photos showing a Pacific Reef heron
(Egretta sacra) hunting a mudskipper (species unknown) at Pasir Ris beach. Having heard news of this
rare visit and its location, I went to visit the site on 02 September 2022, early in the morning at low tide.
The bird showed up at about 8am and it was busy looking for prey.
It caught sight of a mudskipper and immediately, the chase began, see photo #1. The mudskipper was
skipping away, jumping above the water several times which was strange to me. Normally, mudskippers
will swim away like a fish, at high speed by wriggling its flexible body, even in shallow waters. I observed
this typical behavior before in the shallow pools at Pasir Ris mangrove forest. By jumping above the
water, the mudskipper exposed itself and became an easy target.
After a short chase, the bird was able to catch its prey, see photo #2. Unfortunately for the bird, the
mudskipper was able to free itself from the bird’s beak and escape from the bird. The second chase
immediately began.
Unfortunately for the mudskipper, it was caught for the second time, but this time, it caused the bird to
be flustered see photo #3.
The excitement of the second chase caused the bird to raise its crown and
nape feathers, see photos #3 and #4.
While looking for a quiet place to consume the mudskipper, a pair of House crows (Corvus splendens)
showed up, briefly harassing the heron before flying off, see photo #5. In this photo, the heron was seen
walking on the sea grass at low tide.
After swallowing the mudskipper, the heron continued hunting again at the beach, see photo #6 and
wandered away, in deeper waters.
Thong Chow Ngian
