With gulls in the area, goldeneyes and coots stand a very good chance of losing their meals.
Despite their softness (due to differential heat waves in the single digit temperatures two days ago at Bear River MBR) I decided to use some of these photos for today’s post. After applying twice my normal amount of sharpening to them during processing they’re good enough for documentary purposes and I think these behaviors are worth seeing.
Near one of the bridges on the refuge this young male Common Goldeneye came up with a fish which almost immediately attracted the attention of one of the thieving gulls that were hanging around in wait of just such an opportunity. Because of depth of field limitations the duck is very soft, making the fish difficult to make out, but you’ll see it more clearly in subsequent photos.
The fish was a little too big for the goldeneye to swallow quickly so his preferred evasion technique was to…
wait until the gull got close before diving with the fish. This photo was taken just prior to diving – notice that his tail is already flared which will help him submerge quickly.
This time he was gone before the gull even got close.
But the gulls know that if the fish is too large to be quickly swallowed underwater the duck will eventually have to reemerge with the fish. So they lay in wait, either on the water’s surface or in flight close to the water, for the duck to…
reemerge so the gull can try again.
This time the gull got closer but…
once again, no cigar.
The gull used this technique repeatedly but on this day the duck’s technique was…
more successful than the gull’s and I believe the Goldeneye eventually swallowed the fish.
But things don’t always turn out that way, as an American Coot discovered later the same morning at a different location on the Bear River.
Around here at least, coots will eat fish if given the opportunity, especially in winter. The coot on the right somehow came up with a fish (maybe it was already dead?) and another coot had designs on its prize. So for quite a while I watched as…
they competed for the fish. The action wasn’t particularly fast or frenetic but the pursuing coot was relentless in its attempts to steal the fish from its rightful owner. But in the end it wasn’t another coot that posed the biggest threat to the ownership of the fish. It was…
another thieving gull.
For whatever reason, coots usually don’t dive to escape potential food thieves and the gull seemed to know that as it put on almost continuous pressure in its attempts to cause the coot to release the fish. Eventually the gull landed…
almost on top of the coot with the fish (there’s a second coot behind the one with the fish) which apparently caused the first coot to let go of the fish and allowed…
the gull to snatch it up and fly off with it. The coot in the foreground who lost the fish looks flummoxed. And pissed.
In wintertime, with most fresh water surfaces locked up in ice, birds are concentrated in relatively small patches of open water. Gulls take advantage of that concentration in their relentless attempts to steal food (kleptoparasitism) from other birds.
They’re good at it too.
Ron
sorry I’m so late. Very interesting and informative.
Gulls are opportunistic assholes, as many a former student can attest. The brazen little bastards would pull a piece of pizza or sandwich right out of a kid’s hand (and then poop on the kid’s head as a final statement). They are beautiful birds, though, especially the California (with their red dots) and Ring-billed ones.
Marty, when they poop on you that stuff can burn. I know that from experience.
Me too, unfortunately. It was fun walking by our neighborhood K-8 around lunchtime last week and seeing several very confused and empty-billed gulls. I took a little too much glee out of that situation. Fortunately, no one got off a shot at me.
Thank you. Such an enlightening and (almost) amusing series. It was definitely worth checking my email. I’ve cut back on a lot of newsletters & blogs, but I do appreciate yours every day.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Cheryl. Thanks.
A wonderful and useful documentary series – well done
Thank you, Gary.
Ah, yet more Californians invading others’ territory; gulls really give us a bad name! 😉 They’re as opportunistic as any Bald Eagle stealing an Osprey’s meal and not nearly so majestic! Great series, Ron, even if a bit distressing to think about how hard it is for any of these birds to make an honest living in winter.
Thanks, Chris. Your first sentence made me smile.
It is one of the few times I am glad not to be a bird. I suspect I would be a very hungry one…
Great series. I wonder whether having to bolt their food like that gives birds indigestion?
It doesn’t seem to bother them, EC. They often gulp it down as fast as they can whether there’s potential competition nearby or not. Kinda Iike I tend to eat…
Great series, I love watching these fast paced dramas.
Thanks, April. Good to see you a few minutes ago. And thanks again for the mantis egg cases.
The American Coot getting a running start is a hoot.
Seems the (California?) Gulls were on a crime spree; or just making a living.
Lyle, I think the gulls were doing both. It’s in their genes.
A good friend who knows his birds says the first gull is a California and the second one is a Ring-billed. Couldn’t prove it by me. I’m a gull ID ignoramus.
They’re impossible unless you pay close attention to the bills, I think. CA fella has that red spot and black tip on his bill; Ring-billed has, uh, the black rings. 😬
I only know — or, quite honestly, care — anything about gulls because Westerns (which have just a red spot on bill) frequent the Channel Islands, and have stolen eggs and even a days-old chick from the peregrine falcons’ nest on Anacapa Island! (But the Peregrines do the same to them, so there’s that…)
Tit for tat…
Ron,
Wow! What great shots and action. Thanks.
Stephen
Thank you, Stephen.
Those gulls certainly are a PITA for other birds…… 😉 Great series showing the action. 🙂
-5 before windchill – did pick up a few inches of snow – not really enough but we’ll take it!
Thanks, Judy. It’s warmed up here, for now anyway.
Terrific series and story! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Kellie.
I, too, take Everett’s point– especially in weather as cold as it was on that
day– to have to dive into very icy water repeatedly to protect your much-
needed food—and then to lose it anyway– strikes me as anything but amusing……
It certainly wasn’t amusing for the goldeneye or the coot, Kris. When it’s this cold even a single meal can make the difference between starvation and survival. For the birds involved these conflicts are very serious business.
Funny! We all need to start our human days lately with a bit of bird humor. I’ve seen flocks of gulls and there’s always a bully or two or three . . . .
Terri, when gulls are around bullying is often part of the equation.
As I’m sure many will have said before, to paraphrase, it looks as if stealing may be even more work than the honest labour of catching one’s own dinner. 😁 Great, great series and story.
Thank you, Granny Pat.
What an interesting post. Survival of the fittest or the smartest or the one with the most experience. Thanks for taking the time to put this together. Can’t help but think that if not for civilization, farming, and laws, that could be us out there battling each other for food.
I was up very early this morning and for the first time ever waiting for the FP post.
“Can’t help but think that if not for civilization, farming, and laws, that could be us out there battling each other for food.”
Interesting point, Everett. I’m sure glad I won’t have to battle it out for my breakfast this morning. Or more importantly, for the coffee in front of me as I type this.