I have recently read a good article on NOHA in OFO magazine taking a
number of prey items, and there are many accounts of birds trying to avoid
birds of prey. The NOHA in particular has been known to eat a variety of
shorebirds (Bent, 1937). As mentioned there have also been a number of
accounts of
Harriers drowning their prey before they eat them another describes a
harrier
drowning a Blue-winged teal in a south Carolina marsh. And finally, the
opposite can be seen by birds ON a harrier. One apparently tried to catch
a Coot (Rearden, Washington) and was itself driven into the water by adult
coots. Male Ruddy ducks, several Eared Grebes then surrounded the hawk and
drowned IT!!! after a ten minute struggle. As it said "Tables were turned"

Libor

----------
> From: Schulz, Edmond <ESchulz at ELDEC.com>
> To: 'tweeters at u.washington.edu'
> Subject: RE: Hawk food
> Date: May 30, 1997 9:24 PM
>
> One morning on Spencer Island, John Flavin and I watched a Northern
> Harrier drown an American Coot by landing on it and forcing it
> underwater. The Harrier struggled to hold the coot down, or perhaps
> it was puncturing the coot with its talons, until the coot was dead.
> Then it slowly dragged the coot up on the shore and back into the
> grass to eat. It was sure strange to see a harrier up to its breast
> in water. I have also seen harriers feeding on mallards.
>
> Ed Schulz
> Everett, WA
> eschulz at eldec.com
>
>
> >I've observed Northern Harriers hunting for rodents in fields and
> >pulling one out of the long grass but I have also observed them
> eating
> >small ducks. Several times I have checked out remains of prey after
> >flushing one from around the Everett Sewage Ponds and they have had
> >Green Winged Teal or some other duck I could not identify.
>
> >Yvonne Bombardier
> >Everett, Wa
>
> > At 02:12 PM 5/27/97 -0700, you wrote:
> > >On Tue, 27 May 1997, Sue Ericksen wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > >> Marsh Hawk/Harrier 41% small birds, 33% rodents, 3% insects
> > >
> > >Amazing. I would have thought harriers were way too slow to snag a
> bird.
> > >
> > >Kelly Cassidy -- Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research
> Unit
> > >Box 357980, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195
> > >kelly at u.washington.edu --- 206-685-4195 --- 206-368-8076
> > >
> >
> > I agree. They cruise the pasture next door looking for rodents. I've
> not
> > observed them chasing birds.
> >
> > Sue