Another exciting afternoon at the Guzzle when a Jaeger was seen out a fair distance hunting and successfully catching a sandpiper, at least twice while we were watching. Apparently they typically steal food from other birds so this was interesting. The Peregrine falcon wasn’t happy to have him in their stomping grounds and gave chase for a short time. The Jaeger wasn’t phased and stayed out on the water the entire time I was there.
This is a very very big crop but wanted to share. A first for me to see this seabirdJaeger and SandpiperThe Guzzle-August 22,2024Confirmed as a parasitic Jaeger
It could pass for a sea falcon.
Definitely a first for me to watch this Peregrine falcon hunting a gull. As far as I can tell the Gull came out unscathed but as you can see the Peregrine put quite an effort into his hunt. I didn’t realize:
“To attack larger prey animals, Peregrine Falcons torpedo toward their targets with their legs tucked close to their bodies. At the last moment, they bring forward their talons. This motion acts like a braking system. The falcon will then curl one of its feet into a fist and punch the target out of the air. Once the prey has fallen to the ground, the falcon can complete the kill and feed, using its exceptionally sharp beaks and talons.” https://www.aiwc.ca/…/peregrine-falcon-hunting…/….
Peregrine Falcon The Guzzle Aug 29,2024 Jessica Van Luxemborg
This Merlin chose the low and fast attack style to sneak up on the shorebird flock but came away empty. Grand Pre – August 27, 2024. Jason L Dain
The small fry are in on it too.