Mallard and Great Blue Heron

I watched the heron fly out from its perch, make a big circle, and head straight for a few Mallards near the shore—with, I think, the last batch of still-small ducklings nearby. One Mallard mom politely expressed her disagreement with this course of action; the heron listened and, swayed by the logic of her arguments, immediately exited stage left with the Mallard in hot pursuit! She gave up as soon as she was sure she’d made her point.

Maybe an adult heron would have been bolder, I don’t know. But if it had tried to escalate, I’m sure all the mallards around would have tried to mob it—and I’m thinking also that in this somewhat deeper water, they would have had the edge in mobility.