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great skua killed an adult ganet (1 Viewer)

The Osprey was in water so therefore at a disadvantage. I think the Osprey might have been emerging with fish which can put them in a dangerous position.



check this picture out a gbb gulls caught and took down an osprey it was probably just trying to take its catch, I dont know if it drowned it or not. Just shows you the raptors easily get victimized.

The last one it caught a female p falcon


Last pictures show you the power of the osprey it is about to kill a blue heron it flipped iti n the air tossed it into the water was about to kill it but then it was saved by some wildlife people.
 
These incidents are not necessarily the norm. Ravens are probably still on the prey list of Gyrfalcons and even Peregrine Falcons occasionally.

As for Skuas no doubt they are powerful and very ferocious.


Enemies: Manniche (1910) relates the following two incidents in which the gyrfalcons were attacked by other birds:

A falcon was in the most violent manner attacked by two Ravens. The quarreling birds flew for a while around high up in the air uttering angry cries, after which the Ravens descended and took place side by side on a rock evidently lurking after Lemmings, the holes of which were numerous around the place. The falcon also settled with the same intention on another rock some 50 meters from the Ravens. At my approach the birds rose again in the air and immediately continued their battle. The Ravens seemed much superior to the falcon, which therefore showed an inclination to fly away to avoid their rough treatment.

The battle at last took place just over my head, and I shot one Raven in order to make the fight more even.


Very sick how some will just shoot birds for the hell of it wow

Not rarely I observed falcons pursued by Skuas (Lestris ton gicauda). At the end of August the young Skuas will frequently be sitting around on stones, still cared for by their parents, which with extreme violence will guard their offspring against attacks from falcons. The Skuas exceed by far the Gyrfalcons in ability of flight, and the falcons therefore always wish to escape the pursuit and retire to the rocks

no clue what kind of skua this monster is talking about
 
Are there any images showing that the gbbg 'caught and took down' the Osprey? Much more likely scenario is a bit of opportunistic kleptoparasitism as the Osprey surfaced with it's catch.

Image with Peregrine shows a gbbg harassing a Peregrine that will be flying slower than usual as it's carrying prey. What's so special about that?

'about to kill a blue heron' 'Flipped it in the air' 'tossed it in the water'. No evidence for any of these comments. Young GBH loses balance as Osprey attacks it, topples over edge of platform, falls in water, is stunned, gets rescued and released.

Perhaps if you have any images of your own (rather than trawling the web and infringing photographers' copyright) that contain sequences showing any of the things that you claim happen, that might help your claims? I won't be holding my breath waiting for that to happen though.

martin

check this picture out a gbb gulls caught and took down an osprey it was probably just trying to take its catch, I dont know if it drowned it or not. Just shows you the raptors easily get victimized.

The last one it caught a female p falcon


Last pictures show you the power of the osprey it is about to kill a blue heron it flipped iti n the air tossed it into the water was about to kill it but then it was saved by some wildlife people.
 
One thing I've noted about the Osprey / Great Blue Heron photos is that there is also an Osprey nest and artificial platform in the photos. If the Herons had landed on the nest then the Osprey would have defended the nest. There is absolutely no indication of predation here. BTW While the Herons may have been knocked off the nest there is no way anyone can interprete what would have happened next. Your arguments, and need to prove your point regardless of the opinions of people with far more experience, with hypothesis and rather specious claims 'backed up' by very selective photographs and obscure quotes is wearing thin. Yes, your initial post was interesting,in that it showed one individual Great Skua attacking a Northern Gannet, but the attempt to take it further by introducing raptors and Ravens is becoming farcical. Give it up mate, you have lost whatever argument you were trying to make.

Chris
 
Are there any images showing that the gbbg 'caught and took down' the Osprey? Much more likely scenario is a bit of opportunistic kleptoparasitism as the Osprey surfaced with it's catch.

Image with Peregrine shows a gbbg harassing a Peregrine that will be flying slower than usual as it's carrying prey. What's so special about that?

'about to kill a blue heron' 'Flipped it in the air' 'tossed it in the water'. No evidence for any of these comments. Young GBH loses balance as Osprey attacks it, topples over edge of platform, falls in water, is stunned, gets rescued and released.

Perhaps if you have any images of your own (rather than trawling the web and infringing photographers' copyright) that contain sequences showing any of the things that you claim happen, that might help your claims? I won't be holding my breath waiting for that to happen though.

martin

Well said :t:
 
chris the skuas of new zealand are beasts they are decent sized larger than the great skua,

The great skua is same size as the falklands skua but just more aggressive

All this information is in the book skuas and jaguars of the world the only known book on them that I am aware of. The tristine skua is not the largest.


I am not sure what proof you are looking for. We see a gull clearly take down a osprey into the water. we do not know if it killed it or whatever. It wanted the food the osprey was carrying? We do not know. But it took it down as we can see. If you would like you can pretend it never happened.
 

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if you are unable to figure it out this is the first attack then the second attack is posted


You can see the gull did this, not some work of magic
 

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Wow you doubted me on every single thing didn't you? calling me a liar? Here you go

http://earthsalmanac.blogspot.ca/2013/08/osprey-attacks-great-blue-heron-get-off.html
On August lst a great blue heron at Kensington Metropark made a near fatal mistake and landed on the osprey nesting platform on Kent Lake. Mistaking the hapless heron for a threatening predator, the resident ospreys mounted a fierce defense of their nest and attacked without hesitation toppling the heron in the water. What is so amazing is this incident was witnessed by birders armed with cameras. Birders often gather on shore with telephoto lens to watch the osprey raise their young and witnessed and recorded this dramatic encounter between two native and protected predatory bird species. The heron was quickly out of the contest. A call for help went out to nearby Heavner Canoe rental to attempt to rescue the great blue heron floundering in the water. I am grateful Huron-Clinton Metroparks shared Jane Purslow's amazing photos with me. Thank you!


YOu would think birders would be a little bit more open minded and have more knowledge and not jump to such silly conclusions wow.
 
I agree chris there iwas NO predation the osprey was going to kiill it or the heron was going to die but it was saved.


There is no "argument" if you pay attention I am just trying to debate share knowledge about what i have read with others on the capability of birds. Stop trying to make this into something this is not, also no one here really has much experience aside from watching a few birds here and there, tHey are NOT ornithologists. THey are and should be curious just like everyone else. How old are you? you think this is some sort of contest ? grow up.
 
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OH BTW herring guls are a prey species of skua.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7obuTJDVZP8 This is a LBB gull but close enough


THe subantartic skua is the largest skua with the largest bill

then the tristan skua

last the falklands skua which is just like the great skua then the chilean skua

none of these I have ever heard of doing feats like the great skua

The southern giants are always being pushed around by johnny rooks and giant ps and other tub nosed giants.
 
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The Osprey was in water so therefore at a disadvantage. I think the Osprey might have been emerging with fish which can put them in a dangerous position.
Are there any images showing that the gbbg 'caught and took down' the Osprey? Much more likely scenario is a bit of opportunistic kleptoparasitism as the Osprey surfaced with it's catch
Address these points, please, Scuba0095. The photos you posted don't.
 
No, what is clear from the fourth image (which is an image that you've posted as being part of two separate attacks by the GBBG on the Osprey...) is that the GBBG has a hold on the fish that the Osprey is carrying - it doesn't have any hold on the Osprey at all. The Osprey would be unwilling to easily part with it's catch and both birds have a hold of the fish at the same time. So, what that image shows is two large birds locked together via the fish that they're both holding, making one very unaerodynamic shape with two obvious centres of mass, a bit like a dumbbell. Try hurling a dumbbell end over end and you'll see why it's hardly a surprise they fell in the water...

You've got an obvious fascination with gulls, skuas, raptors and that's to be applauded, but with more experience of these birds in the field, rather than searching the internet for images that can be (mis)interpreted to support some of your misconceptions, you'll realise why the 'my dads bigger than your dad' approach to interpreting bird behaviour doesn't have any credibility.

martin

I am not sure what proof you are looking for. We see a gull clearly take down a osprey into the water. we do not know if it killed it or whatever. It wanted the food the osprey was carrying? We do not know. But it took it down as we can see. If you would like you can pretend it never happened.
 
Please read what I posted, and then show me where any of those comments appear in the link from earthsalmanac that you've quoted. I doubted you on every single thing because I was aware that you wouldn't be able to produce anything that supported any of the comments you made. If you think that equates to calling you a liar, that's your choice.

martin

martin kitching said:
'about to kill a blue heron' 'Flipped it in the air' 'tossed it in the water'. No evidence for any of these comments.

Wow you doubted me on every single thing didn't you? calling me a liar? Here you go

http://earthsalmanac.blogspot.ca/2013/08/osprey-attacks-great-blue-heron-get-off.html
On August lst a great blue heron at Kensington Metropark made a near fatal mistake and landed on the osprey nesting platform on Kent Lake. Mistaking the hapless heron for a threatening predator, the resident ospreys mounted a fierce defense of their nest and attacked without hesitation toppling the heron in the water. What is so amazing is this incident was witnessed by birders armed with cameras. Birders often gather on shore with telephoto lens to watch the osprey raise their young and witnessed and recorded this dramatic encounter between two native and protected predatory bird species. The heron was quickly out of the contest. A call for help went out to nearby Heavner Canoe rental to attempt to rescue the great blue heron floundering in the water. I am grateful Huron-Clinton Metroparks shared Jane Purslow's amazing photos with me. Thank you!


YOu would think birders would be a little bit more open minded and have more knowledge and not jump to such silly conclusions wow.
 
scuba0095, if you could answer the questions in posts #26, #27, #28, #32, #39 then perhaps we could discuss some published evidence and get what should be an interesting and informative thread back on topic :t:

cheers
martin
 
This thread appears to be causing you a great deal of frustration, leading to some fairly odd statements. How can you know the experience of everyone posting on BF? Agreed, this shouldn't be some sort of contest, but you seem determined to make it one by questioning the first-hand knowledge and experience of BF members and challenging things, that actually happen in reality, with unsourced quotes and odd interpretations of the few things that you can provide sources for.

martin

There is no "argument" if you pay attention I am just trying to debate share knowledge about what i have read with others on the capability of birds. Stop trying to make this into something this is not, also no one here really has much experience aside from watching a few birds here and there, tHey are NOT ornithologists. THey are and should be curious just like everyone else. How old are you? you think this is some sort of contest ? grow up.
 
I agree chris there iwas NO predation the osprey was going to kiill it or the heron was going to die but it was saved.


There is no "argument" if you pay attention I am just trying to debate share knowledge about what i have read with others on the capability of birds. Stop trying to make this into something this is not, also no one here really has much experience aside from watching a few birds here and there, tHey are NOT ornithologists. THey are and should be curious just like everyone else. How old are you? you think this is some sort of contest ? grow up.

To answer your first point. There is no evidence, whatsoever, that the interaction between the Osprey and the Heron would have ended in the death of the latter. On the second, and more contentious point, I happen to know that many people on here are working as, or have worked as professional ornithologists ( myself included ). I have been birdwatching for 53 years, on all continents, Great Skua are a north east Atlantic endemic and I, unlike you, live in the area. My knowledge of southern Skua taxa comes from a year on a research vessel in the south Atlantic, working in ornithological based conservation in New Zealand and, for my final taxon, Chilean Skua, my 6 week visit to Chile last year. To state that I and others have 'no experience apart from watching a few birds here and there' shows that, apart from searching out disparate pieces of 'proof' in an attempt to bolster your fixation with Skuas, Gulls, raptors and Ravens, you haven't bothered to do the most cursory research into the members on here. The knowledge gained by myself and others, over many years, has been gained in the field, with the birds themselves not, as yours appears to have been, by your statements, selectively extracted from books and the web. As for 'growing up' I would suggest you temper your language until you have garnered at least a tiny bit of knowledge that will enable you to discuss things with adults.

Chris
 
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OH BTW herring guls are a prey species of skua.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7obuTJDVZP8 This is a LBB gull but close enough


THe subantartic skua is the largest skua with the largest bill

then the tristan skua

last the falklands skua which is just like the great skua then the chilean skua

none of these I have ever heard of doing feats like the great skua

The southern giants are always being pushed around by johnny rooks and giant ps and other tub nosed giants.

Lesser Black-backed Gull is a far different bird than any of the Herring Gull taxa so I'm afraid you're guilty of attempting to pull the wool over the eyes of people who know these species far better than you.
The Skua taxon found on Tristan and in the Gough group is, on average, longer winged, has a longer body length ( pers. obs. ). South Polar Skua will give way to Giant Petrel. They are, after all, half as big again as the Skuas, I know I did if they behaved aggressively towards me. Caracara, or as you so quaintly call them 'Johnny Rook', are not particularly aggressive raptors in any sense, so your claim of "southern giants" ( by which, I presume, you actually mean Skuas ) being 'pushed around' by them strikes me as rather odd. As for 'other tub ( sic ) nosed giants may I ask what other species are you referring to? One thing you should take into consideration is the actions of scavengers at a large food source. All species then tend to behave aggressively with even birds the size of Sheathbills attempting to drive off Giant Petrels but you couldn't, in any way, infer they were the alpha species.

Chris
 
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LOL.....that sentence made me laugh especially.......

No, what is clear from the fourth image (which is an image that you've posted as being part of two separate attacks by the GBBG on the Osprey...) is that the GBBG has a hold on the fish that the Osprey is carrying - it doesn't have any hold on the Osprey at all. The Osprey would be unwilling to easily part with it's catch and both birds have a hold of the fish at the same time. So, what that image shows is two large birds locked together via the fish that they're both holding, making one very unaerodynamic shape with two obvious centres of mass, a bit like a dumbbell. Try hurling a dumbbell end over end and you'll see why it's hardly a surprise they fell in the water...

You've got an obvious fascination with gulls, skuas, raptors and that's to be applauded, but with more experience of these birds in the field, rather than searching the internet for images that can be (mis)interpreted to support some of your misconceptions, you'll realise why the 'my dads bigger than your dad' approach to interpreting bird behaviour doesn't have any credibility.

martin
 
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