Date: 4/12/25 5:25 pm From: Rick Wright via groups.io <birdaz...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Harrier and harried
From Funk Lagoon three springs ago:
A big adult Peregrine Falcon, almost certainly a female, passed
into our field of view, flying low and slow over the water and struggling
under the
obvious burden of its breakfast. The breakfast itself, of course, was
struggling even
2
more. The peregrine was almost to shore when the teal managed to shake
itself free
and fall into the water, where it flailed and floundered for a moment. The
falcon circled
back—but too late, it seemed, as an adult female Northern Harrier slipped
in to hover
awkwardly over the moribund duck, reaching its long, slender feet into the
water again
and again, only to drop the bird each time it proved too heavy to recover.
All the while,
the peregrine circled low over the drama, watching but not interfering with
the harrier’s
efforts. Finally, seeing its chance, the falcon slipped in beneath the
harrier and plucked
the sodden and now apparently dead duck from the water. It landed on the
mud of the
shore, where it plucked and ate daintily from the prey that had caused so
much trouble.
Kleptoparasitism—food theft—is not unusual among raptors, but this episode
was the
first any of us had seen involving a peregrine and a harrier; its novelty
was only
reinforced by the fact that the entire incident took place over open water
and that it was
the harrier that attempted to take
advantage of the peregrine’s difficulties
rather than the other way around. What
may sound on paper like a mere
“interesting observation” had us on the
edge of our seats for minutes, in
suspense about which of the big and
agile raptors would prevail. I have seen
dramatic sights in 45 years of birding,
but few have made me catch my breath
the way this encounter did.
Le peuple, un jour désabusé, se réjouira d’être délivré d'un tyran.
On Sat, Apr 12, 2025 at 8:22 PM Bill Kaempfer via groups.io
<William.Kaempfer...> wrote:
> I've read that coot are a favorite prey, but I've never seen a harrier
> take one.
>
> Bill Kaempfer
> Safety Harbor, FL
> ------------------------------
> *From:* <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...> on behalf of William Flack
> via groups.io <sparvophile...>
> *Sent:* Saturday, April 12, 2025 8:15 PM
> *To:* <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...>
> *Subject:* [NEBirds] Harrier and harried
>
> [External email - use caution]
>
> This morning (April 12), I birded the sewage ponds at Grant (Perkins
> County). Lots of waterfowl on the ponds, and shorebirds starting to show
> up: among others, American Avocet (also saw some at Rock Creek Reservoir
> yesterday) and Wilson's Snipe (also seen at Imperial today).
>
> As I watched the ponds, a Northern Harrier flew in. It spent some time
> over the ponds, seeming to follow the shoreline at times, generally at a
> height that I'd estimate in the 10–20-foot range. The ducks, both on the
> ponds and on the shore, didn't seem bothered by the presence of the
> harrier. I saw one Northern Shoveler hop from the bank into the water as
> the harrier flew over, but otherwise, even the small Green-winged Teal
> didn't appear to respond to it.
>
> Shorebirds, however, seemed to react. I'd seen six avocet swimming
> placidly on the water, and they took to the air. Two snipe, which I hadn't
> seen before they flew, also headed skyward; and five unidentified
> yellowlegs, also not previously seen, circled over the pond, calling.
>
> The "Birds of the World" account for Northern Harrier notes "Can capture
> swimming rails", so it's apparently not out of the question for them to
> pick prey off the water. Later, it says "In the breeding season, females
> may capture heavier prey than males, including virtually all large,
> nonpasserine bird prey", which latter might perhaps include waterfowl. I
> think that my bird was in immature plumage, though I culpably failed to
> make a note of that, so can't be sure. It wasn't a gray-and-white adult
> male, though.
>
> William Flack
> Kearney
>
>
>
