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great black backed gull kills a healthy pom skua and goose? (1 Viewer)

It is unclear whether the Skua was killed from this. Indeed it says the skua went back to the Common Gull kill.

But they are brutes - a GBBG killed an American Wigeon at Rutland Water a few weeks back, and a female Mallard I think, was killed by a different GBBG at Belvide Res recently. Brutes they are!
 
Certain individual GBBs seem to develope this habit of preying on ducks. The one at Rutland water that killed the American Wigeon was also seen to kill and eat a Gadwall a few days earlier and is constantly harrying Coot and duck flocks.

Steve
 
reading this reminds me of my visits to the Scillies in the 80's and a supervised trip to Annett, where the danger to other seabird chicks from BBG's existed, such as shearwaters, the BBG's would wait for the chicks to emerge from their nesting burrow and pounce
 
Had an intriguing moment watching a Lesser Black Back continuously harry a moorhen, until it disappeared into s samll clum uf reeds. It tried to asecape out of the back, and was promptly drowned! I saw the samehappen with the same species, but the morrhen as a chick at rspb saltholme.
 
I have never seen a GBBG attack another bird here in Devon, but a few months back I watched a GBBG juvenvile pulling at fish that were trapped in the rolled up trawl net of a boat berthed in the fish quay at Torquay, the GBBG was actually damaging the the net itself, so they must have considerable strength, whilst there were Herring Gulls and a couple of Carrion Crows waiting around to try to get their share they were all keeping a respectful distance and non of them moved in until the GBBG juvenile had left.

I do also sometimes see GBBG catching fish at the weir on the river exe at Millers Crossing Exeter, I see LBBG and Black-headed Gulls doing the same at that location, but I have never seen a Herring Gull trying to catch fish.
 
Once watched at Lesser Black-backed Gull take about 10 minutes to drown a female Ruddy Duck at Rutland Water. Perhaps it was in league with DEFRA.
 
Phil Andrews said:
Once watched at Lesser Black-backed Gull take about 10 minutes to drown a female Ruddy Duck at Rutland Water. Perhaps it was in league with DEFRA.
Click to expand...

Cunning that - Anglian Water never permitted the Ruddy cull to shoot on Rutland Water so DEFRA must have trained LBBs specially.

Steve
 
speckled wood said:
I have never seen a GBBG attack another bird here in Devon, but a few months back I watched a GBBG juvenvile pulling at fish that were trapped in the rolled up trawl net of a boat berthed in the fish quay at Torquay, the GBBG was actually damaging the the net itself, so they must have considerable strength, whilst there were Herring Gulls and a couple of Carrion Crows waiting around to try to get their share they were all keeping a respectful distance and non of them moved in until the GBBG juvenile had left.

I do also sometimes see GBBG catching fish at the weir on the river exe at Millers Crossing Exeter, I see LBBG and Black-headed Gulls doing the same at that location, but I have never seen a Herring Gull trying to catch fish.
Click to expand...


I started a thread about GBBG some time ago ....I posted a lot of photos by other people in it:-

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=132000


It just goes to show the power of the GBBG. I have never seen them kill a bird myself too. Even Ravens in pairs cannot intimidate a lone GBBG at a carcass.

I wonder how the GBBG behaves with other BOP such as Kites, Buzzards.
 
I saw a GBBG kill a Shelduck at Rutland Water during BirdFair weekend last year. I also witnessed a GBBG kill and eat a Black Tailed Godwit from the Camel Trail in Cornwall when the Greater Yellowlegs was around.

Pretty gruesome but that's nature I suppose.
 
Himalaya said:
I started a thread about GBBG some time ago ....I posted a lot of photos by other people in it:-

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=132000


It just goes to show the power of the GBBG. I have never seen them kill a bird myself too. Even Ravens in pairs cannot intimidate a lone GBBG at a carcass.

I wonder how the GBBG behaves with other BOP such as Kites, Buzzards.
Click to expand...

I'd say the only BOP to put manners on a GBB would be a Sea-Eagle - Bald Eagles do a similiar job over in the US apparently.
 
At this time of year I sometimes watch them part-dive for Sardines out at sea with some success!
 

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Hi Mick.
The GBB got a shock as it was sitting on the water waiting to mug Cormorants. I've seen a GBB at nearby Inner MArsh Farm RSPB kill & eat an adult Teal. It swallowed it whole and sat there covered in blood. Late arrivals in the hide thought it had been shot.
 
mick.ball said:
From today's Cheshire reports (9 Jan)

Hilbre Island Glauc was a monster. Was picked up as it tried to drown a Greater Black-backed and wss then chased off by 3 more before perfroming a flypast down the east side.
Click to expand...



How does a Glaucous Gull try to drown a bird which is its size if not bigger and equally as powerful?
 
Himalaya said:
How does a Glaucous Gull try to drown a bird which is its size if not bigger and equally as powerful?
Click to expand...

It grabbed it by the neck and pushed its head under but then got attacked itself by other GBB Gulls in the area and chased off. At one stage there was a real melee on the sea with the Glauc and 3 - 4 GBB Gulls that had flown attracted by the commotion. Whether the attacked GBB Gull was sickly and the Glauc realised it I don't know.
 
I saw GBB Gull and Pom Skua sparring on Tuesday just offshore from the tip of Orfordness. I just assumed that it was the skua harassing the gull, but now I am not so sure.

I have watched GBB GUll attacking a variety of birds over the years from small passerines to coot. They are brutal!!

Some interesting observations there :).

Sean
 
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