Northern Harrier vs. Mute Swan?

[stvgarrett]

Any thoughts on whether a Harrier could possibly have killed a swan? I flushed a Harrier this morning at Col Sam Smith, when I walked to where it had taken off from, there was a swan carcass that looked pretty fresh and had exposed flesh - breast feathers cleaned off, skin gone, muscle exposed. So it certainly looked like the Harrier had been feeding on it.

From the Cornell Lab:
The Northern Harrier feeds primarily on mice, other small mammals, and small birds. It will, however, take larger prey, such as rabbits and ducks. It has been known to subdue large prey by drowning it.

Another site, the Lethbridge College wildlife site
 http://lcvirtualwildlife.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=103:northern-harrier&catid=110:northernharrier&Itemid=131
says:
Northern Harrier may also kill larger birds, such as adult waterfowl.

[Reuven_M]

It couldn't possibly have killed a healthy swan, or even a badly injured or sick one probably, but maybe was feeding on one already dead.

[MEGHAN]

My opinion is it may have died of natural causes or it could have been a coyote kill. Either way it sounds like a coyote opened it up good for the Harrier to dig in.
Either way, an easy meal for a B.O.P.
Same reason you'll find Eagles and other large raptors on road kill.
Just an easy meal. Why spend energy hunting for food when there is a all you can eat set up.

Meghan

[stvgarrett]

makes sense. Except nowhere did I see any mention of Harriers eating carrion whereas Eagles are pretty well known for that. But it does seem to be the only logical explanation unless it somehow struck the swan with enough force to stun it, after which it could drown it (per the Cornell Lab's comment).

I agree - most likely an opportunistic meal.

[MEGHAN]

This is what I get when I look up their diet:
DIET: This hawk eats small mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, and carrion. Harriers hunt using a low, slow flight over the ground, then plunge onto their prey.

So I guess it just took advantage of a good easy meal

Meghan

[stvgarrett]

Guess it was a rookie question

[feathered]

Having wrangled swans in a rehabilitation setting, I sincerely doubt even a large red-tail could subdue one, even if it was injured, much less a relatively delicate hawk like a harrier. Neat observation, though.

[Irene]

I would agree with Meghan's statement of a coyote kill, there have been several sightings of a local coyote at the park, if the kill was fresh enough it could have been an easy meal.

[candidpets]

swan can kill any raptor other than an eagle, no matter if the raptor hits it, the strong is a very powefully built large bird even if u look at its head

[candidpets]

same goes for giant canada goose who can and do kill attacking bald eagles.


Even Ravens and Large gulls can easily dominant harriers.