another superlative ditty from Michael P. where he asked -


> And I think I've finally figured out the reason why scoters panic at the
> sight of approaching kayak and canoes, and put it up for discussion. Loons
> and grebes don't seem to care much: they just dive out of the way.
> Goldeneyes and Buffleheads fly off a short distance, often just circle back
> to the feeding area. Scoters show no such tolerance whatsoever--they take
> off en masse and *vamoose*. This suggests flight from a predator, but which
> one? Superficially, the profile of a kayak or canoe with one person in it
> could conceivably resemble the shape of an Orca, but it's hard to imagine
> Killer Whales wolfing down scoters when salmon or the odd seal is easier to
> catch. So while the kayakers were approaching the flock this morning, I
> tried to imagine from the birds' point of view what predator might be
> incoming at them. I think it's the oars. The on-off flashing of the
> paddle-blades may be similar to the on-off flash of white head and/or tail
> of an incoming Bald Eagle, and eagles definitely love to chow down on
> scoters. So it's only a theory. Comments?

Hmmm. For the eider, one could assume that thousands of years of dodging
Inuit in umiaks may have been gradually imprinted. This would hold less
water (sorry) with the scoters.

- Jack



Jack Bowling
Prince George, BC
jcbowling at mindlink.bc.ca