Subject: Prey turns on predator -Reply
Date: Dec 01 11:03:44 1997
From: "Kelly A. Bettinger" - BETTIKAB at dfw.wa.gov


I watched a similar display in my backyard (Sumner, WA, Pierce County)
while doing Cornell's Project Feederwatch this past Sunday (Nov 30). A
sharpie swooped into the yard and focused in on a starling (yeah!). In its
attempt to escape, the panicked starling crashed into a chainlink fence
where the sharpie grabbed it and both birds ended up on the ground,
sharpie on top. For several minutes the hawk stood with wings mantled
over the starling, but he didn't have a good grip on the bird who was on
it's back, facing the hawk, screaming and jabbing with it's bill. The
sharpie finally attempted to fly into an apple tree but only had the starling
by one leg. For a moment there was actually a tug of war in flight, with
the two birds trying to fly opposite directions...and the starling got away.
Darn!
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Kelly A. Bettinger
Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife
Habitat Management Program
Species-Habitat Project
600 Capitol Way North
Olympia, WA 98501-1091
360-902-2604
bettikab at dfw.wa.gov
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