[Jamspangle]

Someone recently told me that Bonelli's Eagles eat all other birds of prey up to and including Griffon Vultures. Could anyone out there confirm this for me?

I have just returned from Tarifa for my second (annual if i get my way!) trip to see the migration down there and as well as seing my first Spanish Imperial Eagle (you beauty!) i saw my first Bonelli's and every time i saw them they were attacking other birds of prey. Was this an earnest attack or was it just playing, as all the birds i saw were juvs.

cheers

jamie

[Edward]

I would think it extremely unlikely that a Bonelli's Eagle would attack and eat a Griffon Vulture, out of the question in fact, but I'm willing to be put right if anyone knows for certain. They generally prey on things the size of Red-legged Partridges and Rabbits I think.

Young raptors are just silly sods on the whole, and lack of experience will make them frequently bite off more than they can chew. I've seen young Gyr Falcons try to catch Whooper Swans (adult Gyrs can cope with geese but Whoopers!). A friend of mine watched a juv. Merlin trying to "catch" a Gyr Falcon near Reykjavík yesterday (it failed unsurprisingly) and on Saturday we watched a juv. Merlin try for about 5 minutes to catch a Black-headed Gull and fail miserably (the gull was just irritated by it). I think the Bonelli's Eagle you saw was probably just seeing how far it could go.

E

[CornishExile]

Originally Posted by Edward

Young raptors are just silly sods on the whole, and lack of experience will make them frequently bite off more than they can chew. I've seen young Gyr Falcons try to catch Whooper Swans (adult Gyrs can cope with geese but Whoopers!). A friend of mine watched a juv. Merlin trying to "catch" a Gyr Falcon near Reykjavík yesterday (it failed unsurprisingly) and on Saturday we watched a juv. Merlin try for about 5 minutes to catch a Black-headed Gull and fail miserably (the gull was just irritated by it).

E

Must be something about juv Merlins - a few years ago in October a couple of us watched a juv Merlin pestering a fox as it tried to hunt rabbits in open country. The Merlin buzzed it repeatedly, and eventually struck down with its talons at the back of the fox on two occasions. The fox tried to ignore it at first, then snapped ineffectually at the air over its head, and finally loped away across the field, leaving the Merlin pratting around after Meadow Pipits.

Hard as nails, Merlins!

ce