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Index of Subjects --000000000000235ef405a2a9e157 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Thanks for that Paul, I do recall the tern colonies on PEI but the only free range farm animals I remember were chickens, ducks and geese. I do not recall other farm animals being intentionally allowed to free range, but I certainly remember these regularly escaping from their pastures or other enclosures. All the best, Ron On Mon, Apr 6, 2020 at 8:39 AM rita.paul@ns.sympatico.ca < rita.paul@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote: > Hi Ron and All > If you want to see how fast Eagles are, go to Blue Beach > and fish for stripers. The Eagles will sit on the trees behind you > - throw out a piece of bait and its whoosh the Eagle has it. > Quite amazing. > Terns seem to have good defense against air borne predators > but not so much against four legged mammals who travel by night. > Skunks, Minks, Raccoons and so on. > I don't know if you can remember the tern colonies on PEI. > The birds were in attack mode in the day so an Eagle took > its chances but at night little defense. > In my young days on PEI in the days of free range hens, sheep and lambs > an Eagle or any big bird of prey was living dangerously if it came on a > visit. > Probably didn't make the same mistake twice! > Enjoy the spring > Paul > > > On April 5, 2020 at 11:59 AM Ronald Arsenault <rongarsenault@gmail.com> > wrote: > > Hi John and all, > > On a number of occasions I have witnessed Bald Eagles harassing Ospreys > after the latter had captured a fish. The eagle, flying high above the > osprey, would dive bomb the osprey causing the bird to drop the fish. The > dive was "J" shaped, with the eagle turning up just before contact with the > osprey would have occurred. It would then have to turn and head down and go > after the fish. In a spectacular display of speed and maneuverability, I > have seen the eagle catch the fish in its talon before the fish hit the > water! In fairness, though, I have also seen them miss. > > While the Bald Eagle understandably has the reputation of being a > lumbering flyer who prefers feeding of carrion, they are very capable > predators with impressive flying abilities, in both speed and > maneuverability. > > Growing up on PEI in the 60's and early 70's, I never saw a Bald Eagle. > Not a single one! This is quite a contrast with the situation today where I > see eagles on a regular basis when visiting PEI. > > As for their impact on other species, I started visiting parts of > Antigonish and Guysborough counties in the late 70's. In the early years, I > saw many ospreys, while eagles were few and far between. These days, I go > to that area of the province much more infrequently, however the relative > abundance of these species appears to have reversed. I frequently see Bald > Eagles, while I rarely see ospreys. Obviously this is anecdotal only, but I > would love to see actual figures. > > I also remember reading that the increase in eagle numbers had a negative > impact on the seabird colonies on the Bird Islands off Cape Breton. I am > hoping someone can add details to this. > > Stay safe > > Ron > > On Sun, Apr 5, 2020 at 6:24 AM John and Nhung < nhungjohn@eastlink.ca> > wrote: > > Hmm ... some of us have seen eagles attacking gulls. > > Wonder if that might have some effect on terns, which are not nearly as > common as a generation or two ago. > > Has anyone seen eagle-osprey interactions? I've heard of predation on > osprey nests, but am not sure how common that is. > > -----Original Message----- > From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] > On Behalf Of Burkhard Plache > Sent: April 5, 2020 12:27 AM > To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca > Subject: Re: [NatureNS] bird notes, March 22 to 31, 2020 -- eagle nests > etc. > > To your claim that gulls increased in numbers: > My understanding is that they took advantage of open landfills > and also discard of fishing fleets. At least that is the common > understanding of the situation in Europe. > With the closure of open landfills, gull numbers declined. > > My remark should not distract from the fact that human > interventions (intentional or unintentional) tend to have > unexpected and/or unintended consequences. > > Burkhard > > -------------- > Re: David Webster > > [...] This reminds my of the Sea Gull cycle. > > The common Gull became threatened in the early 1900's due to > harvesting of eggs for food so egg gathering was forbidden. They > responded gradually and eventually became so abundant that they were > threatening Terns. > > A sensible solution would have been to allow Sea Gull egg > harvesting but instead people were hired (or rounded up) to make > distracting noises whenever a male gull was about to get lucky in > areas where Terns also nested. > > So one by one, and I would not care to predict what will take the > hit, but logically waterfowl which frequent fresh water/coastal water > will be vulnerable. Perhaps even Sea gulls or Terns. > > > > -- > Ronald G. Arsenault > Halifax, Nova Scotia > > > > -- Ronald G. Arsenault Halifax, Nova Scotia --000000000000235ef405a2a9e157 Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail_default" style=3D"font-size:large">Tha= nks for that Paul,=C2=A0</div><div class=3D"gmail_default" style=3D"font-si= ze:large"><br></div><div class=3D"gmail_default" style=3D"font-size:large">= I do recall the tern colonies on PEI but the only free range farm animals I= remember were chickens, ducks and geese. I do not recall other farm animal= s being intentionally allowed to free range, but I certainly remember these= regularly escaping from their=C2=A0pastures or other enclosures.</div><div= class=3D"gmail_default" style=3D"font-size:large"><br></div><div class=3D"= gmail_default" style=3D"font-size:large">All the best,</div><div class=3D"g= mail_default" style=3D"font-size:large"><br></div><div class=3D"gmail_defau= lt" style=3D"font-size:large">Ron</div></div><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote"= ><div dir=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_attr">On Mon, Apr 6, 2020 at 8:39 AM <a hr= ef=3D"mailto:rita.paul@ns.sympatico.ca">rita.paul@ns.sympatico.ca</a> <<= a href=3D"mailto:rita.paul@ns.sympatico.ca">rita.paul@ns.sympatico.ca</a>&g= t; wrote:<br></div>