[texbirds] Ospreys on UTC
- From: "Susan Heath" <sheath@xxxxxxxx>
- To: "texbirds" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 29 Jun 2013 16:30:16 -0500
All,
Yesterday (6/28/13), my grad student and I observed an Osprey sitting on
one of the poles on the south side of North Deer Island in West Galveston
Bay. We have, on a number of occasions over the past few months, seen an
Osprey sitting on a reef between the I-45 bridge and Texas City in
Galveston Bay eating a prey item. I confess I haven't paid much attention
to these birds. I have been wondering whether an Osprey would take a young
bird as a prey item though. I have only ever seen them with fish but I
received a report from a fisherman that he found the carcass of one of our
banded oystercatcher chicks on the railroad tracks that run across Jones
Bay. This was clearly the result of an avian predator sitting on the
elevated tracks to eat as they oystercatcher chick would not have been in
that location. I have wracked my brain to figure out what sort of avian
predator could take a fledged oystercatcher chick (nearly as large as an
adult) and fly away with it to the railroad tracks in the summer. In
winter, I'd say Peregrine Falcon but in the summer, I just don't know.
Thoughts?
Sue
Susan A. Heath, Ph.D.
Avian Conservation Biologist
Gulf Coast Bird Observatory
103 W. Hwy 332
Lake Jackson, TX 77566
979-480-0999
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