Once our summer heat arrives I sometimes post images from previous winters just for the psychological relief from the sweltering temperatures. This is such a post.
The winter of 2008 was severe and it put a lot of survival pressure on our resident birds, particularly raptors. The number of Northern Harriers wintering over at Farmington Bay seemed unusually high and toward the end of the winter there was intense competition for dwindling food supplies.
1/1250, f/10, ISO 500, Canon 40D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4tc, not baited, set up or called in
These two harriers were fighting over the carcass of a dead Mallard, some of which can be seen near their tails. Fighting over food was common that winter, much more so than I’ve seen since. This image, taken in mid-February, shows one of the more common fighting postures. Even though we can’t see them here the birds are slashing at each other with their talons. Believe me, they’re lightning fast when they do so.
1/1000, f/10, ISO 400, Canon 40D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4tc, not baited, set up or called in
Three days earlier these two were feeding on what was left of a very large carp. Harriers aren’t normally fish-eaters but during a winter like that one they were much more flexible in their diet than usual. At this point these two birds were satiated and relatively peaceful but there was still a lot of tension in the air.
The invasive carp were killed by refuge personnel in an effort to reduce the amount of damage they do to emergent vegetation on the refuge. Bald Eagles would sometimes drag the dead fish up onto the ice to feed.
Ron
Note: I’m on an extended camping/photo trip to Montana and internet access is intermittent at best so I won’t be able to respond to comments that may be posted (though I do get the comment emails on my phone when I have a signal and I enjoy reading them).
Quite the fighting stance.Good to see they are adaptable and surviving in most cases.
Arwen–I have the same dilemma with rats and mice…don’t think screaming like a banshee and stomping on them would have desirable results!!! But it’s a tempting thought. I worry about hawks and owls, too. I lost a great Horned owl to a poisoned rat. As for the plants and bugs, I try to attract as many birds as I can and tell them I’ve done my best and if they can’t survive on their own it just wasn’t meant to be. Some times they listen…I get a lot of leaves with holes in them and chewed edges. Sometimes I even get flowers! Vegetables are a lost cause….
HAHAHAH, Patty!
Excellent story in pictures. Hope the park personnel didn’t poison the carp as that would go badly for the birds. I refuse to spray for insects because I’m worried about the toads who would eat the dying bugs. So I scream like a banshee and stomp them instead. LOL
Susan did indeed say it for us. I am grateful for the carp too. And wonder what they would have done if they had been less flexible or the carp hadn’t been there. And don’t want to think about it.
Susan said it sll
Even though you can’t see the slashing talons in the first photo, the emotional state of the birds is quite obvious – a clear example of a picture being worth a thousand words. I hate it that these birds had to compete for food, but am grateful that you were able to capture this behavior.