In May, I made a trip to the South Platte River. The river was flowing strongly as a result of releasing run-off from the upstream reservoir at Chatfield. I found this Great Blue Heron on the far bank of the river.
![3008-0004-Great-Blue-Heron-South-Platte-River](https://matchgrun.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/3008-0004-Great-Blue-Heron-South-Platte-River.jpg)
Here the heron was fishing for the next meal.
![3008-0005-Great-Blue-Heron-Fishing-South-Platte-River](https://matchgrun.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/3008-0005-Great-Blue-Heron-Fishing-South-Platte-River.jpg)
Soon the heron caught a fish. This looked like a big one about 16 inches in length.
![3008-0020-Great-Blue-Heron-Catch-No-1](https://matchgrun.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/3008-0020-Great-Blue-Heron-Catch-No-1.jpg)
I made several images of the heron as it was aligning the fish to swallow.
![3008-0024-Great-Blue-Heron-Catch-No-2](https://matchgrun.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/3008-0024-Great-Blue-Heron-Catch-No-2.jpg)
It was amazing to watch the fish make its way down the heron gullet!
![3008-0034-Great-Blue-Heron-Catch-No-3](https://matchgrun.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/3008-0034-Great-Blue-Heron-Catch-No-3.jpg)
Wow. What a huge fish!
![3008-0036-Great-Blue-Heron-Catch-No-4](https://matchgrun.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/3008-0036-Great-Blue-Heron-Catch-No-4.jpg)
Half way down to the stomach.
![3008-0038-Great-Blue-Heron-Catch-No-5](https://matchgrun.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/3008-0038-Great-Blue-Heron-Catch-No-5.jpg)
I never knew that this heron has such a huge capacity in its stomach. I have seen some videos where a Great Blue caught and swallowed a larger fish; it is much more interesting to see this in action.
![3008-0045-Great-Blue-Heron-Satisfied](https://matchgrun.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/3008-0045-Great-Blue-Heron-Satisfied.jpg)
That heron looks really satisfied. I wonder how long until the fish is digested and when the next meal will take place.