David Salem
01-30-2014, 07:44 PM
Took this last night with my partner in crime, Glenn Conlan.
The Harriers in my area eat Coots almost exclusively. I often wondered how they could tackle a coot and kill it. They are not set up to kill something this big, they don't have the tomial tooth on their beak like a falcon.
This specialized tooth aids in dislocating the vertebrae of birds that the falcon catches and is only present in Falconidaes. Without this means of dispatching a large bird like a Coot the Harriers would have to eat the Coot alive ,which I don't think a Coot would stand for and it would fight back and possibly hurt the Harrier. I have taken many Coots with my falcons over the years and they can put up a good fight, even for a larger female falcon.
So how was it that every Harrier we saw was eating a Coot?
We finally figured it out last year and were fortunate enough to witness this hunting behavior multiple times.
The Harriers fly around the ponds looking for an unsuspecting Coot or a good size group. Then they hover over them and roll over and smash right in the water and grab one. At that point they hold it down with their feet and long legs and drown the Coot. This process takes quite a few minutes as a coot can hold it's breath for a long time. The Harrier just sits on the water like a duck waiting for the coot to die. The next part is the one that is ingenious. Once the coot is dead the Harrier flies off down wind to the nearest bank and sits and waits. The Coot floats, and in the breeze, it slowly sends the Coot her way as she stands on the bank patiently waiting. Nature at its best!!
Sorry for the long read but I though it was really neat and wanted to share it with you guys and gals. I also added a few shots of this behavior so you could see what I am talking about. Hope its ok.
1DX---840mm---f7.0---ss1/2500---ISO640---HH from truck@3:45pm---20% crop
Thanks as always for looking and for your input. I appreciate it.
David
The Harriers in my area eat Coots almost exclusively. I often wondered how they could tackle a coot and kill it. They are not set up to kill something this big, they don't have the tomial tooth on their beak like a falcon.
This specialized tooth aids in dislocating the vertebrae of birds that the falcon catches and is only present in Falconidaes. Without this means of dispatching a large bird like a Coot the Harriers would have to eat the Coot alive ,which I don't think a Coot would stand for and it would fight back and possibly hurt the Harrier. I have taken many Coots with my falcons over the years and they can put up a good fight, even for a larger female falcon.
So how was it that every Harrier we saw was eating a Coot?
We finally figured it out last year and were fortunate enough to witness this hunting behavior multiple times.
The Harriers fly around the ponds looking for an unsuspecting Coot or a good size group. Then they hover over them and roll over and smash right in the water and grab one. At that point they hold it down with their feet and long legs and drown the Coot. This process takes quite a few minutes as a coot can hold it's breath for a long time. The Harrier just sits on the water like a duck waiting for the coot to die. The next part is the one that is ingenious. Once the coot is dead the Harrier flies off down wind to the nearest bank and sits and waits. The Coot floats, and in the breeze, it slowly sends the Coot her way as she stands on the bank patiently waiting. Nature at its best!!
Sorry for the long read but I though it was really neat and wanted to share it with you guys and gals. I also added a few shots of this behavior so you could see what I am talking about. Hope its ok.
1DX---840mm---f7.0---ss1/2500---ISO640---HH from truck@3:45pm---20% crop
Thanks as always for looking and for your input. I appreciate it.
David