Dogfights aren't uncommon here, less the canine variety than the aerial type that people living in Kent in 1940 might have witnessed between RAF fighter planes and the Luftwaffe. Here, it's most often between a raptor and birds which feel threatened, such as seagulls taking on a buzzard.
Yesterday afternoon we watched a spectacular confrontation between two sea eagles and two pairs of crows - they may have been hoodies or ravens - taking place above the hill at the end of Ormsaigbeg,
Maol Buidhe.
The eagles didn't stand a chance. They were too slow, too lumbering, too unmanoevrable when taken on by birds which constantly swooped down to attack them from above - and the crows were both agile and extremely aggressive.
One wonders what the argument was over, whether the crows are competing for food or whether they're building nests in the cliffs of
Sron Bheag. In the end the eagles gave up, suddenly wheeling away and accelerating as they plunged westwards over the hill, leaving the crows to caw their triumph across empty skies.
Ravens Jon on the pictures shown. Unmistakeable tail pattern. Have seen nearly 40 young ravens in the air at once down here. The ravens will be nesting soon. Looking forward to our visit in May.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks, Dave. The same ravens were seeing off our one remaining buzzard yesterday. Shortly we'll have no large birds around here except ravens.
ReplyDeleteJon, I have some film of one raven, 5ft wingspan, seeing off an enormous adult white tail that came in on its nest range. Defo a ravens nest above the road head at Ormsaigbeag somewhere? Heavy snow here today. Got good shots of a couple of otters yesterday on the Nith. Red squirrel raiding my nut bag in the snow this morning. Made my day it did. Keep safe, keep warm
ReplyDeleteDave - Yes, saw those super otter shots. We had report recently of a red squirrel just up the road near Laga Bay, but haven't seen it. Bitter weather here, snow on Ben Hiant and a gale, with the temperature stuck at 2C. Jon
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