The cheek of it

[captain nodge]

Had laugh and feel sorry at the same time when a cormorant here came up to eat its catch which looked like (from a distance) a small flatty, before it could notice a lesser black backed gull swooped down and stole it right out of the cormorants beak and made of with it, the look on the divers face is describable as you cheeky so n so and could hardley believe it had happened, anyway today a similar thing happened only the cormorant was wiser and probly made sure he caught something small enough so he could gobble it up as soon as it surfaced, the lbbgull was this time foiled, this probly happens a lot to them and others but to actually witness it is a treat, would love to get a piccy, has anyone else seen similar things? bit like happy slapping for wildlife CN

[Dogghound]

I have seen this before, had a similar incident the other day involving a pair of black-headed gulls harassing an Eidur for food. Gulls are very crafty and mob allsorts of birds for food.

[Naturenutz]

Haha,they are cheeky them gulls,got put off them though last year when me and a work mate saw a black backed gull take a baby moorhen from the local pond/lake before it had chance to see it coming.I wonder if gulls effect the duckling populations.

[werdnal]

Not quite wildlife related, well almost. I think I might have posted this here before, but I will try to summarise as follows:

Every year we get nesting buzzards in a small conifer plantation about 200 yards from our house. When the young start flying, they often use our house roof as a convenient landing spot, and watch our comings and going without concern. We have 2 cats (both 17 this year so now past hunting); Toffee - male, good at catching rabbits but rather dozy at times; Treacle female, on the ball about most things. One day a few years back, Toffee came wondering into our yard with his latest catch, a young rabbit. In his usual casual fashion, he put it down to a scratch/clean, unaware that the latest buzzard fledgling was sitting on the roof watching his every move with more than a little interest. Quick as a flash, the buzzard flew down, nabbed the rabbit and carried it back to the roof. Toffee then sat puzzled as to where his hard-earned bunny had disappeared to. Treacle however, was observing proceedings from a safe distance, sneaked around to the back of the house where she too could get on the house roof, and crept up behind the young buzzard. I watched, heart in my mouth, fearing the bird would turn on her, as she is only a small cat and would have been pretty defensless against tallons and beak, but no, he was so surprised that this little black thing had the gall to steal his already stolen meal, he gave up the minor tug of war fairly easily, and Treacle dragged the rabbit away to enjoy! Don't know who was the real loser here, but my vote is with the rabbit