Subject: eagle attacks pheasant, now raptors falling out of character
Date: Jan 21 13:09:58 2000
From: Martin J. Muller - MartinMuller at email.msn.com


Tweeters, Terry,

On Thursday Terry described a Golden Eagle hunting pheasant near Asotin
(unsuccessfully as it appeared).

I believe it. I have not seen Golden Eagles go after pheasant, but I've seen
one raid a Raven's nest (not quite the same since nestlings are not as
mobile as an adult bird). But I have seen other instances of raptors hunting
prey species they supposedly don't usually hunt.

Case in point: adult Bald Eagle stooping on a flying Mallard. The eagle came
within a fraction of an inch of nabbing the Mallard, which dodged at the
last instant. Quite exciting since I was standing in a direct line from the
eagle past the duck to me. I was looking at the soaring eagle through
binoculars when it tucked its wings and started its stoop in my direction,
much like a peregrine would. It was only when I started to wonder if the
eagle was after me that the mallard winged into the field of view of my
binoculars. Not typical hunting behavior for a mainly fish-eating bird.

For several years there was an adult male Red-tailed Hawk with particularly
scruffy looking plumage (looked like someone had brushed its feathers the
wrong way, but this plumage characteristic was retained through molts) at
the Grain Terminal north of Seattle's downtown waterfront. I've seen this
bird cruise along the top of the grain silos and scare the pigeons lined up
there into flight and nabbing a slowpoke. Not your typical prey and hunting
method for a perch-and-stoop hunter of predominantly rodents.

It does make for excellent bird watching; birds that "fall out of
character."

Cheers,
Martin Muller, Seattle
MartinMuller at email.msn.com