'Food Chain' List (1 Viewer)

stephennj · Apr 2, 2005

Many of us get to see a Heron catching fish or Thrushes eat a worm,but how often do you get to witness a bird fall prey to a predator?

Examples : Bass splashing out of the water to snatch a hummingbird or Pike drowning a goosling,fox catching a grouse.Basically anything besides a bird being caught by domestic pets.

I have only seen a Coopers Hawk catch a Titmouse.
I find the food chain fascinating and I would like to hear your lists .
-Stephen Bahr

Joe H · Apr 2, 2005

Greetings,

In Anchorage last fall I saw a Northern Goshawk eating a Black-capped Chickadee while the Chickadee’s mate did everything within its power to stop the hawk. It was an impressive display of determination, but was totally ignored by the hawk.

Many years ago down in Seward I saw a sea lion grab a sea gull that seemed to be pestering it. I’m not sure if the gull was eaten, but it definitely never made it out of the water.

Joe H

Katy Penland · Apr 2, 2005

Sharp-shinned hawk catching birds in our yard is a several-times-weekly occurrence.

But the most astonishing incident of predation I've seen to date was watching a killer whale mother teach her calf how to use stealth to sneak up on prey -- in this instance, a Red-necked Phalarope sitting on the surface of the water. We'd seen the adult female swimming upside down just under the surface of the water (to conceal the prominent dorsal fin all killer whales have; males' are even taller), and on the last run she made, she swam under 3 phalaropes when one of them just simply disappeared underwater. There was no break in the water's surface, the bird just got sucked out of sight. The other two phalaropes immediately flew off. The calf was seen shortly afterward swimming upside down as well.

David FG · Apr 2, 2005

I have seen a Great Black-backed Gull take a Puffin in mid-air.

robshreeve · Apr 2, 2005

i was once ripping wall panneling off in house as i did this we uncovered a giant web
at the same time we must have disturbed a large bluebottle it flue straight into the web and went beserk we could here it buzzing and see it fightingthe web sudenly
a spider ran across the web and jumped on the bluebottle it was quite a violent thing
to wittness you dont imagine till you see something like this just how violent predation
among smaller species can be

certainly take more care now when stripping walls LOL

Jane Turner · Apr 2, 2005

I have seen.. Kestrel eat Red-backed Shrike and House Martin...., Peregrine eat... Curlew, Herring Gull, Grey Plover, assorted Pigeons/Doves, Black-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Knot, Sanderling Redshank and Woodcock... Merlin eat Meadow Pipit, Skylark and Twite, and Eleanora's falcon eat Rock Bunting

TWM · Apr 2, 2005

Top of the food chain?
I have eaten Chicken, Turkey, Pheasant etc etc.
Sorry! Couldn't resist it!!!!

christineredgate · Apr 2, 2005

Shown on a Bill Oddie video,think it was BO in Scotland,it showed a Gull swallowing a whole rabbit.

Swift · Apr 2, 2005

Sparrowhawk eat Red Backed Shrike, unfortunate for those who had yet to see the Shrike!

cavan wood · Apr 3, 2005

I once saw a warbler (yellow-rumped I think) hit a window and flutter to the ground. It was still alive, but before it regained its senses, a chipmunk ran up and made away with it.

Also peregrine taking a "peep" sandpiper out of a group of several thousand. Awesome.

Last week I found the remains of a wild turkey (feathers only) on a huge old rotten log. The "scat" was filled with bones and feathers and almost looked like owl pellets. (Is that possible?)

Scott

Beth05 · Apr 3, 2005

stephennj said:
Many of us get to see a Heron catching fish or Thrushes eat a worm,but how often do you get to witness a bird fall prey to a predator?

Examples : Bass splashing out of the water to snatch a hummingbird or Pike drowning a goosling,fox catching a grouse.Basically anything besides a bird being caught by domestic pets.

I have only seen a Coopers Hawk catch a Titmouse.
I find the food chain fascinating and I would like to hear your lists .
-Stephen Bahr

My favorite time was being the only person at a huge secluded lake, spotting a peregrine falcon with my binoculars far away (across the highway) on top of a high tension tower. And seeing it dive down (probably around 200 miles per hour), speed past me at a few feet and kill a gull flying low above the lake. I followed him with my binoculars the whole way. It is an image that is etched in my mind forever.

marcus · Apr 3, 2005

Last year I saw a Great Blue Heron with a large lump moving down it's long neck as it was trying to swallow a fish it had just caught.
I was just walking by some trees a few years ago when I was surprised to see a Red-shouldered Hawk in one of them having a Gray Squirrel for lunch. It saw me and flew away with it's lunch to a higher branch.
I have once seen an Osprey and once a Caspian Tern dive down and catch a fish. But they both dropped their catch.

cavan wood · Apr 3, 2005

Not that all predation isn't intriquing, but the original post by Stephen was asking for examples of predation OF birds not necessarily BY birds.

Scott.

marcus · Apr 3, 2005

That's true

cavan wood said:
Not that all predation isn't intriquing, but the original post by Stephen was asking for examples of predation OF birds not necessarily BY birds.

Scott.

I know Scott, but birds are almost the only type of wildlife I have ever seen doing any predating.
Ok, once I was standing by a lake and I saw a Snapping Turtle in there attempt to snap up a little 'ducky'. That was right at the edge of the lake and fortunately the baby duck climbed out of the water just in time.

jurek · Apr 4, 2005

Last autumn we saw flying White-tailed Eagle turning upside-down and catching a White-fronted Goose from below. Within half and hour, 12 more White-tailed Eagles gathered around, and every one tried to steal a bit of goose to himself.

Ben Rackstraw · Apr 4, 2005

Saw an immature Goshawk being mobbed by Red-billed Blue Magpies in Beidaihe, China, in Autumn 2003. They must have pushed it too far, as it jumped up and plucked one of the mobbing group out of the top of a pine, before flying off down the hillside with the Magpie's long tail trailing behind.

Pride of place, however, must go to the Common Seal that I saw grab a Red-throated Diver (Loon) by the neck offshore from Titchwell a couple of years ago. The seal proceeded to swing the poor diver around its head for a couple of minutes before administering the coup de grace by biting its head clean off. Unfortunately I didn't have my video camera with me, it would have made a change from all those ducks slipping on ice and kittens playing with their reflection home videos in the 'aren't animals funny' section of 'You've been Framed'

saluki · Apr 4, 2005

I saw a Pike take a Coot a few years ago on Pennington Flash. A Mink take a Waterhen at Slimbridge when I was a boy. Peregrine's killing all sorts, the most impressive was a Blackcock. GBB gull kill a fully grown juv. Herring Gull. Great Skua and GBB Gull kill young rabbits. GBB kill Wigeon and Teal. Sparrowhawk take young rat and rabbit and many birds, biggest being domestic pigeon. Common seal attempt (but fail) to catch a wounded mallard. Hobby and House Martin. Merlin and Redwing, Skylark and Meadow Pipit. Buzzard and pheasant.

saluki

stephennj · Apr 6, 2005

Wow this is great stuff !
thanks everyone for sharing.

scuba0095 · Apr 6, 2005

wow this is amazing! has anyone ever seen something like a predator ever catching and killing another predator? like a bobcat catching a hawk? or a golden eagle catching and killing a eagle owl?

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