Mystery Bird 11/10/08

OPSBirds

It is a Feral Pigeon !

The bird was attacked by the pair of Peregrines. The male attacked first from behind, and hit the pigeon a glancing blow. Then the female hit the bird hard, producing a puff of feathers, but still it kept going. Until the male hit it again and the Pigeon ended up in the water. It floated just like any water bird. The Peregrines made a couple of swoops, to try to retrieve their meal, but couldn’t. When the Pigeon started flapping to get airborne again it attracted the unwanted attention of the local gulls, which circled around it, hoping for an easy meal. Even a Grey Heron circled a couple of times, thinking about scooping it up. The Pigeon drifted for 15 minutes, sometimes flapping to get into the air, but it was too water-logged. The last I saw, it was drifting towards the shore, where the gulls were waiting ! 

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Last revised: 11 October 2008.