I Would Love To See (1 Viewer)

scuba0095 · Dec 5, 2005

Hello

Ive always had a dream of watchging great skuas and great black back gulls interact during feeding. These two birds facinate me and are extremly LEGENDARY with their agressive natures. HAs anyone whitnessed encounters between the two? I have heard great skuas have been known to kill them but it is just so hard to believe considering the size and power of these gulls! LOve to hear your responses

showaddy · Dec 5, 2005

Never seen an encounter - but don't underestimate the Great Skua, it's a big hard mean looking bird. First one I saw launched iteslf from the rocks below the lighthouse at Ardnamurchan a couple of years back, taking a strong powered dive towards the sea, then leveling out to fast direct flight just above the water, towards a large flock of razormots and guillebills several hundred yards out. First "instant" thought from the size, colour and powerful flight was that it was an eagle.

saluki · Dec 5, 2005

scuba0095 said:
Hello

Ive always had a dream of watchging great skuas and great black back gulls interact during feeding. These two birds facinate me and are extremly LEGENDARY with their agressive natures. HAs anyone whitnessed encounters between the two? I have heard great skuas have been known to kill them but it is just so hard to believe considering the size and power of these gulls! LOve to hear your responses

Watched a GBB catch two Waterhens at Marshside NR yesterday. I couldn't see what happened in the second incident (although I'm sure the bird escaped) but in the first the Waterhen fought back and managed to get to water deep enough to dive in, therefore making it's escape.

The same gull was also seen chasing Teal several times.

saluki

showaddy · Dec 5, 2005

Oh by the way - if anyone's interested, last time I was in the Museum at Kirkcudbright there was a large collection of stuffed coastal birds. Now, like it or hate it, it is a very useful thing to be able to get that close to some of them, albeit dead, to see just how sizes compare. I was quite surprised by the size of the Great Black Back.

You certainly wouldn't want to find one in your lounge.

paulwfromtheden · Dec 5, 2005

saluki said:
Watched a GBB catch two Waterhens at Marshside NR yesterday. I couldn't see what happened in the second incident (although I'm sure the bird escaped) but in the first the Waterhen fought back and managed to get to water deep enough to dive in, therefore making it's escape.

The same gull was also seen chasing Teal several times.

saluki

I spent a week on Ramsey Island last year. One of the (many) highlights was watching the GBBG's catching and devouring Manx Shearwaters. Also I saw one catch a baby rabbit, kill it with one bash of his beak and swallow it WHOLE!!!

Allen S. Moore · Dec 5, 2005

showaddy said:
Oh by the way - if anyone's interested, last time I was in the Museum at Kirkcudbright there was a large collection of stuffed coastal birds. Now, like it or hate it, it is a very useful thing to be able to get that close to some of them, albeit dead, to see just how sizes compare. I was quite surprised by the size of the Great Black Back.

You certainly wouldn't want to find one in your lounge.

I was struck on the head by one when I was near its nest years ago, but I'm still here! Before anyone says, it could explain a lot!

scuba0095 · Dec 5, 2005

wow will they actually strike you? I always thought they were cowardly they will fly around u if u approach the nest but dont have the guts to strike! well anyone that know where i can read about great skuas interacting with gbb gulls or if anyone has any persona knowledge or experience let me know! One thing i dont understand is why is a GBB gull able to fight off a raptor but yet cant handle a skua? Maybe gbb gulls are just slow flyers like the ring billed.

Edward · Dec 6, 2005

Although I see a lot of Great Skuas and GBBG I've never seen them interact. Whilst their paths cross regularly I'm sure most of the time they leave each other alone. Great Skua is a locally common migrant breeder in Iceland and is one of my favourite birds. They can strike you (usually with their feet) and it can be pretty unnerving when there are several of them take turns but there's no danger, just a big whoooooosh as they fly past. Arctic Terns are far more aggressive, peck you and crap on you. I'd rather face Great Skuas any day. I enclose a photo of me getting attacked whilst helping a friend doing a Red Phalarope census last June. There were dozens of pairs in the area and as you moved along every pair took turns in dive bombing, some of them more adept than others. At one point I counted 12 Great Skuas in the air together sizing us up. I've also frequently been divebombed by GBBG but they tend to veer away about 30 metres away and about 10 metres above your head, not exactly a terrifying experience.
On a final note, we went on a pelagic trip of southern Iceland last year and attracted lots of Great Skuas and an even greater number of Fulmars.The Fulmars, through sheer numbers, were totally dominant over the Great Skuas, and any attempt Great Skuas made to pick up food off the surface was foiled by a mass of chattering Fulmars. The Great Skuas were probably wary of the Fulmars vomiting prowess.

E

scuba0095 · Dec 6, 2005

Hello

Both great skua and GBB gulls are one of my fave birds as well however I have not been able to see either

NOt very common around here! But I think much more needs to be written on these birds or web sites should be dedicated to them because theirs not enough in depth information on them! Unlike great horned owls or bald eagles for example.

scuba0095 · Dec 6, 2005

wow that is truly amazing that the flumers had the upper hand over the skuas. I have seen how skuas treat smaller sea birds like kittywakes they show no respect for them! Also the kittywakes dont do much to gang up and defend themselves either. I am sure a skua could prey on a flumer if caught by itself. Very informative of you to mention that flumers are pack birds and work together to dominante more powerful bullyies like skuas.

Colin · Dec 10, 2005

I've not seen the two species at the head of this thread interact but I have seen a Great Skua overpower and kill a Shag on the sea off Handa Island in 2000 which is an island off the Scottish mainland. It took about 10 minutes to see off the Shag but it was a powerful piece of nature.

Julian Bell · Dec 11, 2005

scuba0095 said:
Hello

Ive always had a dream of watchging great skuas and great black back gulls interact during feeding. These two birds facinate me and are extremly LEGENDARY with their agressive natures. HAs anyone whitnessed encounters between the two? I have heard great skuas have been known to kill them but it is just so hard to believe considering the size and power of these gulls! LOve to hear your responses

I have seen plenty of interactions between Great Skua and GBBG in my time offshore. The interaction goes like this:
1) Bonxie comes over the horizon as a distant speck.
2) Gulls take to the air in a tightly bunched flock and flee

It never fails to amaze me how one Bonxie can scare SO many gulls at one time - the biggest flock I've seen panicked in this way is around 400 (though not all were Great black backed).

Why on earth the gulls don't turn on the skua and chase it off (or worse) I don't know. The way I get onto Bonxies is the typical bunched up flock of fast flying gulls around the vessel.

scuba0095 · Dec 12, 2005

wow its wierd how the less formitable flumers and artic turns will attack the bonxie while the huge agressive gulls will flee! I have heard lesser black backs will gang up on bonxies but i am not sure how much truth there is to this

kas · Dec 12, 2005

We get alot of both these species during the summer. In fact from my own observation I would say both species are becoming more numerous. The Great Skua is a summer visitor while the GBB Gull is here all year.

I have never witness them in arial confrontation although I have seen skuas take food from the GBB gulls while feeding on the water, while feeding on fish at the surface.
Both these species also follow the angling boats, and then hang about them when they are anchored. They wait for any fish or bait to be thrown overboard, and I have also seen a few squabbles here.

Skuas are not shy in the least, as you can see from Edwards pic. This picture is of a Skua that followed our boat one day, he stayed beside the boat until we fed him. He was so close I hardly needed to use the Zoom. Apart from the local mallards this is the only wild bird I have managed to get such a close shot of, without using my scope.

scuba0095 · Dec 12, 2005

just curious in all your interactions have you ever whitnessed the gulls being the agressors ?

Jane Turner · Dec 12, 2005

I have seen a Great Skua fly into a flock of roosting large Gulls and knock over an Adult Lesser Black-back, stand over it with a foot on each carpal and proceed to disembowel and eat it while it was still struggling. It quite put me off my sandwiches!

scuba0095 · Dec 12, 2005

holy good god~! I keep hearing horror storyies about these amazing birds the wolverines of the sky is what they really are!

I wonder if there is any bird species other then flumers that are able to teach these birds some manners? LOL

I do understand the great skua of the south does get bossed around by other birds but I really dont think the southern skua is HALF as a agressive of the northern sub species! I never hear of the antartic southern skua doing any of these horrific deeds! I cannot be the only one who has noticed this?

Yikes these birds are truly something that is why I am so facinated by them! I JUST CANT get enough of their stoyries LOL

scuba0095 · Dec 12, 2005

Is the reason why flumers are able to avoid being killed and eaten because they are faster better flyers ? It is starting to seem that the better and quicker more agile birds are usually the dominant ones dispite how large they are. FOr example artic turns.

Ever since i was young ive had a huge obession with turns gulls and ABOVE ALL SKUAs!

I just recently saw a herring gull in a parking lot (bird not to common around here) and parked my car and watched it eat and keep the ring billed gulls at bay while it feasted on some mc donalds LOL IT was at least double the size of the ring billed gulls amazing to look at it! The people watching me look at the gulls probably thought i was a freak LOL

scuba0095 · Jan 3, 2006

http://www.arthurgrosset.com/europebirds/photos/stesku7954.jpg

wow amazing picture!

Julian Bell · Jan 3, 2006

Jane Turner said:
I have seen a Great Skua fly into a flock of roosting large Gulls and knock over an Adult Lesser Black-back, stand over it with a foot on each carpal and proceed to disembowel and eat it while it was still struggling. It quite put me off my sandwiches!

Wicked!
I've not seen that but I've watched Pom skuas catch and drown kittiwakes before eating them

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