MJB
Well-known member
The eagle has captured one of the sex-crazed Martians?
Probably not... but perhaps we're closer to a Star headline, 'Lamb takes Golden Eagle'?
MJB
By the way, how did they get that red double-decker bus on the moon?
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Golden Eagle takes lamb (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter thenorthernmonkey
- Start date
Probably not... but perhaps we're closer to a Star headline, 'Lamb takes Golden Eagle'?
MJB
By the way, how did they get that red double-decker bus on the moon?
birdboybowley
Well-known member.....apparently so ;)
Not rude at all, just bored of reading the rantings of someone with a bizarre grudge against WT Eagles...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
eagle golden
Well-known member
perhaps if you had seen a golden eagle ripped open by one of these birds, you may try to see the other side,of the tale,I have more than once, if you knew about relocation not been done under proper conditions, so the birds get inprinted altering the instincts,
so making these birds act differently, at the time the authorities said it would breed out of them, but it certainly has not, I love the sea eagles as much as the golden eagle, but the ones in norway, that know they are sea eagles.
Shadow-watcher
Well-known member
[Dark olde pub corner, light from fire illuminating only half of the face of a weathered crusty farmer]
"Arrrghhh, they come from the sky lyke black shadows o' death, an' many a farmurs boy as been chased indoor by' em. Lambs, pigs, even Bulls have been carried arf back to there erie, which is 'idden in a cave under the sea! But its those birdurs they lyke the most, them twitchers as they's calls them. They rip and tear at them, hoist em up by there binocu-lurs, and leave there bodies strewn across the mountain so they do... Oooaaar its a terrible sight!"
If you have seen a WTE hunt and kill a GE then I think you may have witnessed something never previously seen by any ornithologist/ecologist/bird watcher etc ever! I stand to be corrected on that, because I know very little about WTE/GE behavior, but horror movie ramblings wont convince me I'm afraid.
Many WTE in Harrogate?
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Jane Turner
Well-known member
Indeed it should be written up and sent in to a serious journal - here is the current thinking on the hunting prowess of WTE, from BWP
Predator, scavenger, and kleptoparasite, taking fish, waterbirds, mammals, and carrion. Versatile hunter. Prey located while bird (1) stationary on elevated perch (e.g. rock, tree, post), on ground, or in shallow water; (2) engaged in searching flight while Soaring (200–300 m) or in low flight over water or ground. May actively hover or glide before dropping, with legs held forward and talons extended, to make catch. Sometimes uses sudden swift stoop at steep angle from soaring flight. Relies mainly on surprise rather than agility to catch prey other than fish. Usual method of fishing is to fly low over water, dropping to snatch fish from surface; occasionally plunges in. Also catches fish when standing or wading in shallow water, and often takes stranded and dying fish. Attacks against birds on water often repeated and of long duration; when against flock of birds, eventually directed at one individual. Kill most frequently made near surface after victim exhausted by repeated escape dives. ♂ and ♀ often hunt together. Will also plunder breeding colonies to take eggs, young, and sometimes adults: gulls (Laridae), auks (Alcidae), herons (Ardeidae), cormorants Phalacrocorax.
Attacks on flying birds rare, and usually only successful with more clumsy individuals, e.g. ♀ Eider Somateria mollissima moving from nest. Frequently robs other birds, particularly Osprey Pandion haliaetus; also Red Kite Milvus milvus, Black Kite M. migrans, Buzzard Buteo buteo, Peregrine Falco peregrinus, Snowy Owl Nyctea scandiaca, and gulls Larus. Also takes remains of other species' kills, e.g. parts of fish left by gulls or by otter Lutra lutra. Readily eats carrion and offal, particularly from abattoirs and from fishing industry; will follow boats.
Wide diversity and wide range of size and weight of food items—a reflection of varied hunting methods. Often not possible to decide if food caught alive or by food-piracy, or taken as carrion. Numerous observations, but relatively few quantitative data. Fish weight range 0·5–3·0*kg (0·1–15). Include most commonly: Gadidae (especially Gadus, Pollachius), Cyprinidae (especially Cyprinus, Rutilus), pike Esox lucius, salmon Salmo salar, trout S. trutta, perch Perca fluviatilis, eel Anguilla anguilla, catfish Anarhichas lupus, lumpsucker Cyclopterus lumpus, red-fish Sebastes marinus, herring Clupea harengus. Birds range in size from small chicks up to Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus (i.e. up to 10*kg), though most are medium sized (0·5–2·5*kg); include Alcidae, Laridae, Phalacrocorax, Ardeidae, ducks (Anatidae), coots and crakes (Rallidae), grebes (Podicipedidae), and divers Gavia. Mammals range in size from small rodents (e.g. water vole Arvicola terrestris) to sheep Ovis aries and calves of red deer Cervus elaphus and reindeer Rangifer tarandus; as carrion up to size of seals (Common seal Phoca vitulina, grey seal Halichoerus grypus), porpoise Phocaena phocaena, and even man. Reptiles (snakes Vipera, tortoises), amphibians (frogs Rana), and molluscs (swan mussel Anodonta, cuttlefish Sepia officinalis) occasionally recorded. For detailed lists see Uttendörfer
Shadow-watcher
Well-known member
Its a relief to know that they will only eat us as carrion.
NoSpringChicken
Well-known member
That story in the 'Sport' gave rise to one of my favourite quotes of all time, by Tony Livesey, the then editor-in-chief:
"I didn't quite believe the story so I told the reporter to go to Asda, buy a packet of fish fingers, mix the child in with them and see if the mother could pick it out."
Brilliant! Tony Livesey has a programme on Radio 5 Live on Monday to Thursday nights and still has a dry and quirky sense of humour.
All of which has nothing whatsoever to do with Golden Eagles or White Tailed Eagles.
Ron
chris butterworth
aka The Person Named Above
You have to. If you try sinking your teeth into a live human they tend to run away. Spoilsports! :-C
Chris
eagle golden
Well-known member
Hi i have been looking close at the photograph,the bird is from a pair near gribbun but I am convinced the lamb has been superimposed, look at the eagles feet, they are not right,thats why they dont want to be named.
mjh73
Well-known member
Oh dear.....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12634698
Not the BBCs finest hour in environmental reporting. More undeserved oxygen for Songbird Survival for starters.....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12634698
Not the BBCs finest hour in environmental reporting. More undeserved oxygen for Songbird Survival for starters.....
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dantheman
Bah humbug
Interesting. Doing the magic 'Ctrl and +++++' to zoom in, those legs do look positively painful in that position
q1 - natural??
q2 - would there be that amount of pink streaking (blood?) on the back of a woolly animal such as this if freshly caught?
q3 - what would the estimated weight of the lamb be? (related to its size and age). (And then compare to the weight of a GE).
Relating to q3 - Of course raptors can glide well/fly with difficulty with heavy prey items ... but as has been mentioned, is this within limits? Also would the general prey (lambs) be newborn or otherwise vulnerable? - this looks a little older to me ...
Any lamb experts out there?
This link says that sparrowhawks and decreasing, while songbird survival say that they are increasing.
I hate to say it, but I am starting to get tiny wee bit concerned about sea eagles also. Partly because of what eaglegolden had said, and also other stuff I've read on the web. I read somewhere that they take species such as goshawk, buzzard, short-eared owl and raven. I saw a photo somewhere of a sea eagle cutting a buzzards head open. It then waited for it to die before feasting on it. They also take grey heron (common, but still great birds). And as eaglegolden has said they kill golden eagles.
Living in the Borders, I am aware that sea eagles have been reintroduced to lothian and fife, just up the road. While it would be great to see one of these birds so close to home, I would hate for them to come down here and eat our buzzards, herons, very few goshawks, our very few ravens and pose a threat to our peregrines ( I am lucky to be in an area where peregrines are fairly common). Also they could pose a threat to the only golden eagle pair left in the borders.
However, most of the above is just speculation as to whether they would come down here. And I am not for a second suggesting that they should be culled, they are magnificent birds, but I am just expressing my mild concerns about their place on top of the food chain and how it may affect our birds and that the farmers may in fact have a point for once.
Andrew Rowlands
Well-known member
ALL resident (those that inhabit the same territory year-round) birds of prey will will take out, or attempt to, any competing species it can; it's thought to be a tactic for Winter survival in temperate and colder zones - much like wandering/migrating is for most Harriers, Falcons, Barn and Long-eared Owls, for example.
Regards,
Andy.
John B (not the sloop)
Don't blame me I didn't vote for 'em
I've read stuff on the web that many Governments are spraying mind altering chemicals into the atmosphere to keep their taxpayers docile. Apparently the Americans have an installation that can change the Earth's magnetic field around, and the Apollo moon landings were all faked in a film studio in New Mexico. This may sound a little sacreligious but I think that some of this stuff one finds on the internet may not always be 100% legit.
So it was one of those moving photos like in Harry Potter then? |:S|
I wouldn't fret too much about Peregrines. They can look after themselves pretty well. I watched one giving a Goldie absolute hell once.
Sorry i didn't make it clear it was a set of pictures. I also remember seeing a similar set of shots of two WT eagles absolutely mauling a buzzard, luckily someone intervened and saved the buzzard.
The reason that peregrine was giving the golden eagle hell was because goldies are natural predators of preregrines. If that peregrine was perched, or asleep, a golden eagle could fly up behind it and pick it as easy prey.
Enji
Well-known member
Bit surprised reading about WTEs in this thread... I've always been under the impression that Golden Eagles are more powerful than WTEs! Maybe that is just my impression, because Goldies are so much rarer here?
I wouldn't want to say that they never take Buzzards or the like (of course they'd eat one if they could catch one!), but I've never heard of it, and WTEs are common around here, as are Ravens, Goshawks and Buzzards. The ones I see mostly seem to catch fish, and occasionally a duck or gull or something like that. Also they seem to be decimating the Cormorant population recently... making fishermen happy!
I wouldn't want to say that they never take Buzzards or the like (of course they'd eat one if they could catch one!), but I've never heard of it, and WTEs are common around here, as are Ravens, Goshawks and Buzzards. The ones I see mostly seem to catch fish, and occasionally a duck or gull or something like that. Also they seem to be decimating the Cormorant population recently... making fishermen happy!
Bit surprised reading about WTEs in this thread... I've always been under the impression that Golden Eagles are more powerful than WTEs! Maybe that is just my impression, because Goldies are so much rarer here?
I wouldn't want to say that they never take Buzzards or the like (of course they'd eat one if they could catch one!), but I've never heard of it, and WTEs are common around here, as are Ravens, Goshawks and Buzzards. The ones I see mostly seem to catch fish, and occasionally a duck or gull or something like that. Also they seem to be decimating the Cormorant population recently... making fishermen happy!
You are lucky having so much WTEs, and lots of goshawks. WTEs are more powerful than golden eagles, and unless the golden eagle really goes for it, the WTE usually wins fights between the two.
Over here, we only have about 30 pairs of WTE compared to about 400 pairs of golden eagle. Despite this I have only seen one golden eagle compared to five WTEs
Stonefaction
Dundee Birding....(target 150 in 2024).
I did see a series of photos taken at Vane Farm RSPB reserve of a WTE killing a Buzzard last winter. Can't remember which site I saw them on.....If I can find them, I'll post a link.
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