Another Foggy Friday

Friday 18 October 2013 7:45 am, Pearson College dock, Pedder Bay

Pedder Bay Marina

The double-crested cormorants seemed to be very agitated this morning.  Many of the birds were flying around in Pedder Bay.

Bald eagle feeding on cormorant

While walking down to the floating building yesterday at about 8:30 am, I saw a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) sitting on the rocks just below the director’s lawn. Initially the eagle flew away into the trees but shortly after it returned to the rock where a gull was exploring.

The gull was scared away.

The bald eagle then went to retrieve a cormorant carcass from the rock to the left…

But before the eagle could start feeding another bald eagle landed on the rock.

Eventually the second eagle left and the first eagle feasted.

The images below show all that remained of the eagle’s meal:

Double-crested cormorant necropsy

Yesterday afternoon, Théa spotted a dead Double crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) laying on the ground beside the flagpole on the director’s lawn.

Based on the damage to the neck and chest we suspect predation by a peregrine falcon.

This morning we did a necropsy on the cormorant and were particularly impressed with the heart and the trachea & bronchi.