Ballardvale Heron

In the rushing foam just below the Ballardvale dam this Great Blue Heron has speared a Brook Trout. Carrying it up on the riverbank, the heron will spear his prey as it slowly suffocates out of water. When the fish has gasped its last, the heron will flip it up and swallow it head first. Many young herons do not survive because they cannot learn this skill.