Hi tweets,

On two seperate occasions i've seen Harriers catch shore-
birds. As swift as shorebirds are, Harriers don't stand much
chance unless they use the element of surprise. The first time
I saw a Harrier catch another bird was at Grays harbor. A female
Harrier was cruising over the tideflat where some Dunlin and peep
were feeding on the 20 - 30ft of exposed mud. There were pieces
of driftwood strewn about the beach and some of the birds may not
have seen the Harrier coming. Cruising along non-chalantly in
typical Harrier fashion, it suddenly dove towards the shorebirds
and snatched an unlucky Dunlin. It proceeded to land and consumed
its catch as the shorebirds quickly went back to feeding.

Jim Flynn
Renton, WA
bf519 at scn.org