It didn't make much of a meal, but this heron seemed content catching these small fry for what looked like an afternoon snack. Feeding Habits: When a potential meal comes close enough to catch, the heron slowly folds its neck back and moves one leg in the direction of the prey. Suddenly, its entire body unbends, its head plunges into the water, it catches the prey in its bill, and it swallows it outside the water, using a deft movement of the head to drop the prey headfirst into its gullet. In this image I was lucky and caught the prey just before it went headfirst into its' gullet.