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Large prey items of birds of prey (1 Viewer)

Richard Prior

Halfway up an Alp
Europe
As it's approaching Christmas holidays for some, I thought I'd invite members to mull over this (with their mulled wine perhaps!), prompted by the following observation I found in the Recent Sightings section of www.western-isles-wildlife.com

"15th December:
North Uist: A Glossy Ibis was seen at Loch na Revil early this afternoon shortly before being killed by a Buzzard."

Pretty big prey item I thought, so......

What's the biggest bird/animal/fish you've seen killed by a bird of prey?

Richard
 
Golden Eagles have been known to chase Red Deer off cliffs, and its difficult to imagine any greater mismatch than that unless someone has a colony of Rocs near them.

John
 
Saw a Peregrine knock a Mallard out of the sky once. Unfortunately because of my presence, the Peregrine flew around and then away (I was out running at the time). The Mallard just staggered around a bit wondering what the ????
 
Golden Eagles have been known to chase Red Deer off cliffs, and its difficult to imagine any greater mismatch than that unless someone has a colony of Rocs near them.

John
I'd also heard of this claim John, but wondered if it was really documented or one of those apocryphal tales, here in the French Alps one of the 'justifications' for the original extermination of Lammergeier was that they also forced sheep etc off cliffs......

Richard
 
Golden Eagles have been reported taking every dirunal BoP. I have also seen footage of them taking Red Fox and pulling Mountain Goats of cliff edges.
 
I'd also heard of this claim John, but wondered if it was really documented or one of those apocryphal tales, here in the French Alps one of the 'justifications' for the original extermination of Lammergeier was that they also forced sheep etc off cliffs......

Richard

No, its not apocryphal. John Aitchison filmed the behaviour (though did not record an actual kill) for the BBC, up the Findhorn valley. I saw it: there is no possibility of misinterpretation.

John
 
No, its not apocryphal. John Aitchison filmed the behaviour (though did not record an actual kill) for the BBC, up the Findhorn valley. I saw it: there is no possibility of misinterpretation.

John
Thanks for that John, I suppose that once the deer fell off the cliff it was technically a kill anyway!!!

Richard
 
Thanks for that John, I suppose that once the deer fell off the cliff it was technically a kill anyway!!!

Richard

Yes, but the eagle had chosen a bad place for its attempt: the deer survived intact. However it was obvious that a serious, deliberate attempt to harass the deer into a mistake had been made: it wasn't an accidental startling of it.

John
 
Spanish Imperial Eagles take Red Fox. I've never seen them actually make a kill. Though, on one memorable day, we watched a fox chasing an Iberian Hare when 2 SI Eagles hunting co-operatively interrupted the chase at low level - the hare went one way and the fox another (to hell with the hare!) - the eagles went after both, one for each. They didn't manage to catch anything but it was an incredible sight!
 
As it's approaching Christmas holidays for some, I thought I'd invite members to mull over this (with their mulled wine perhaps!), prompted by the following observation I found in the Recent Sightings section of www.western-isles-wildlife.com

"15th December:
North Uist: A Glossy Ibis was seen at Loch na Revil early this afternoon shortly before being killed by a Buzzard."

Pretty big prey item I thought, so......

What's the biggest bird/animal/fish you've seen killed by a bird of prey?

Richard

Weight wise though glossy ibis isn't that heavy/bulky, probably similar in weight or lighter than most ducks or a large rabbit. Plus if you've seen the weather the glossy ibis have had to put up with here of late it probably wouldn't be in the best of health!! The ones I saw on Monday were flying backwards in the wind.

cheers, Andrew
 
Golden Eagles have been reported taking every dirunal BoP.
Er, does that include WTE, Bald Eagle, Steller's Sea Eagle, Imperial Eagle, or any kind of vulture the size of a Griffon Vulture? I mean I've read about Eagle Owls being killed in the occasional nesting site dispute with larger eagles, but never about the large eagles predating each other.
 
I've seen Goshawk taking 1cy Herring Gull mid air - a prey that's basically the same size as Goshawk itself. And heard about White-tailed Eagle attacking Greylag Goose.
 
I haven't seen a bird of prey take anything very large. The usual Red-tails with gophers and Peregrines with pigeons. I do have a Great Egret who frequents my yard that eats gophers. He has to move them around quite a bit before he can swallow them.
 
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