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What bird of prey would attack a skein of geese?

LesleyKLesleyK Posts: 4,029

While walking the dog this morning I was stopped in my tracks by the noise coming from the sky.  I made out two skeins of geese who suddenly came together and whirled round a few times with their cries getting evermore frantic. 

It was very hard to see what kind of geese or what kind of raptor was chasing them but it was spectacular. 

I can't imagine what bird would take them on.

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  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445

    Was the raptor attacking the geese or were the geese mobbing the raptor?



    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • LesleyKLesleyK Posts: 4,029

    They were definitely in a panic nut and a darker shade of bird (no larger than the geese) was working them into tighter circles.  I wish I'd had binoculars with me.  There were a few rooks at a distance - probably came out to see the spectacle, or what pickings there might be.

    I've never heard of (or seen) eagles in this area no but have spotted buzzards and sparrowhawks.  I have been to Specsavers but they haven't managed to give me 20/20 vision yetimage

  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445

    sounds interesting, I'd like to have seen that. But I'm very poor at bird ID and would have been no help



    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117

    More likely to be a buzzard - but I'd have thought the geese would have seen one of those off - unless they were taken by surprise.   I've seen rooks and crows regularly gang up on buzzards with great effect. 

    Geese are a bit useless I think - coming back from The Pentlands the other week, I did a double take on the Edinburgh by pass. There was one coming towards me, flying very low, down the middle of the road...

    I didn't like to tell him the airport was in the other direction....image

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • LesleyKLesleyK Posts: 4,029

    Nut you would have identified the geese by the sound, no problemimage  I just wondered if anyone else had seen anything similar.  Jo - it's sad when we can't say anything about what we've seen.  I couldn't even see the shape of the wings.

  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039

    I don't think a goose would be bothered  by anything smaller than an eagle.

    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • LesleyKLesleyK Posts: 4,029

    Do birds ever work together?  It could have been the rooks looking after 'their' space, but from the very panicky calls they were under threat.

     

     

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  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,139

    Could it have possibly been a heron being mobbed by the geese?  Herons will take baby goslings so geese will always see them as their enemies, whether they have small goslings with them or not.

    Rooks will mob a heron too.


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • LesleyKLesleyK Posts: 4,029

    Dove that's a thought - the local heron hangs out around there and so does the local buzzardimage.  I've just never seen two groups of geese get together and make so much noise.

    Thanks for all suggestions and I'll go for the one with the happy endingimage

  • LesleyKLesleyK Posts: 4,029

    Fairy - that would have been quite a fright, seeing the goose heading towards youimage.

    They're b...dy big birds. 

     

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