Last year while doing our weekly survey at the refuge, Jackie Bakker and I watched as a great blue heron patiently worked at swallowing a muskrat whole!! All that was left to go down were the feet- at which point the bird coughed the entire rat up and out.....only to start over. At another time, Reuben Stofus and I watched as a great blue was having a pi-billed grebe for lunch. I guess it's literally "dog-eat-dig out there.... Pete Sar
On Sun, May 31, 2020, 7:34 PM Glenn Wilson <wil...@stny.rr.com> wrote: > We watched a turtle grab a Pied-billed Grebe and pull it under. It got > free and the turtle did it again. The second time, the Grebe flew away > > Glenn Wilson > Endicott, NY > www.WilsonsWarbler.com > > On May 31, 2020, at 2:40 PM, Linda Post Van Buskirk <l...@cornell.edu> > wrote: > > > Consider the snapping turtle as a possibility. They have been known to > attack mature ducks as well as to take ducklings, which is more common. > ------------------------------ > *From:* bounce-124666854-3493...@list.cornell.edu < > bounce-124666854-3493...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of Gary Kohlenberg < > jg...@cornell.edu> > *Sent:* Sunday, May 31, 2020 2:29 PM > *To:* Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes <c...@cornell.edu> > *Cc:* Sandy Podulka <s...@cornell.edu>; CAYUGABIRDS-L < > cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu> > *Subject:* Re: [cayugabirds-l] Murder most Fowl - Saturday 5/30 > > I hadn’t thought of Mustelid or Possum as Wes suggested as a culprit. > > As only one bird lost his head that could be predation after death. One > other bird dead with head attached and another dying with possible neck > issues makes the suggestion of botulism by Kevin Cummings and Morgan > Hapeman interesting. I know Montezuma has had problems with this in the > past. The water in Shindagin is pretty stagnant which could be a problem. > It also better answers the unlikely idea of multiple birds shot in such a > manner. > > Gary > > On May 31, 2020, at 11:53 AM, Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes < > c...@cornell.edu> wrote: > > Just throwing this out there as another possibility: weasel or ferret. > > This is, as I understand it, classic kill method used by these Mustelids. > They’ve been know to kill off an entire flock of chickens in a night, > severing heads with minimal disruption to the rest of the body. > > Thoughts? > > Sincerely, > Chris T-H > > Sent from my iPhone > > > > On May 31, 2020, at 11:07, Sandy Podulka <s...@cornell.edu> wrote: > > That is also one of my favorite places! > > I have seen 4 male Mallards in that small pond consistently this spring > (but not today, and I guess I now know why). > I have no idea what could kill so many birds in such an odd way except a > hunter, or maybe a group of hunters--I would think an owl wouldn't have a > chance at all of them at once, as the others would fly off. > > So sorry to hear this. As we are learning in so many ways these days, > people can be truly cruel. > > Sandy Podulka > > At 10:08 AM 5/31/2020, Gary Kohlenberg wrote: > > Saturday I walked with my daughter down Shindagin Hollow Rd., in the State > Forest, to the intersection with Gulf Creek Rd. for exercise, fun and to > show her the area. It was very birdy and beautiful as usual especially the > beaver pond at the bottom of the hill. This place always reminds me of the > Adirondacks and is a favorite of mine. > > There was a surprising amount of traffic on Shindagin Rd. both cars and > mountain bikers savoring the nice day. Some out of state plates on cars of > dozens parked at the intersection and FLT crossing. I was reminded how > popular this area is and how much we need wild areas during a pandemic. > > We were amazed at how many Red Newts were crossing the road. Some didn’t > make it unharmed, but most of them did. I learned about their life cycle, > that they are toxic, but contain off the charts cuteness. We tried to help > a couple on the journey, but they are very independent minded and don’t > need any intervention. > > We noticed a dead bird in the pond by the outflow pipe under the road; a > dead male Mallard. Kayla thought it quite interesting and checked to find > it had no head. I thought that was weird, but I have seen it before, and > guessed maybe an owl had decapitated it. I’m not actually positive owls > would or could do this, but seem to remember some discussion about this. If > anyone knows if it can be a thing please enlighten me. > > I scanned the pond and saw movement which was another male Mallard > struggling in the water. His body floated with the head hanging underwater > unable to lift it up. He may have had a broken neck. I wasn’t able to > reach the poor guy to end his misery which made me sad. More scanning found > a third male Mallard floating in the pond dead. I didn’t see any more, > but there could have been one in the grass. Three seems like a typical > total for this small water to hold on any particular day. > > My hypothesis is that they were all shot on the water with a shotgun. To > cleanly decapitate a bird the shot would have to be at very close range. > The other birds could have all been hit with the same shot if they had been > swimming very together. This water is very small and birds not hit would > have flown and probably circled around. It’s not likely they would have > been shot in the air and fallen back into this small area. > > This poaching event is very disturbing and we had another event like this > in the same general area. I’m thinking of the eagle shooting over bait. > No hunter would shoot birds in a barrel or sitting on the water even in > season. In my opinion this is just criminal at any time. > > We all have bigger social troubles overall, but felt compelled to document > this as a complete view of birding in the finger lakes. 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