Great bird catches the gopher in the beak

114PM GMT twenty-four March 2010

Previous of Images Next Great bird catches a gopher, California Photo Steve Shinn / Rex Features Photo Steve Shinn / Rex Features

Photographer Steve Shinn held the impulse fitness ran out for one bad gopher.

The US wildlife fan was gnawing good egrets in California when he beheld the extraordinary sport skills of the white birds.

Red fasten is slaying the entrepreneurs Andrew Strauss blames representation for gimlet pull The Ashes England v Australia live, second Test day 4 Ana Ivanovic dumbfounded by Agnieszka Radwanska in Rome Kate Moss?s open pick up for Topshop

Steve says "The gopher track involves the bird really slowly, roughly looks similar to delayed motion, unctuous up on a impending grab.

"They don"t spike their chase at the common mounds but bravery them from underneath the aspect of composed grass.

"As I sat examination I beheld weed blades move and afterwards mysteriously and silently vanish down in to the belligerent - it was a gopher.

"The bird, in secrecy mode, done it"s proceed over and done a couple of observations and calculations prior to stabbing it"s check in to the ground. The skewered gopher was extracted and lunch was served.

"Since they miss any strong radio detector or sonar rigging I wondered what kind of visionary powers egrets had to acknowledge and name their targets. A couple of of them let me proceed close sufficient to comply their trick."

We goal the bad critter wasn"t the now-retired former puppet star of BBC children"s TV Gordon the Gopher!