This sensational picture of a peregrine carrying a common tern was captured by our regular visitor Dan Dench on Lodmoor last week. It is a perfect illustration of the peregrines’ sleek, powerful aerial prowess honed over thousands of years of evolution.
Peregrine with tern and crow in pursuit.
In certain quarters raptors get a bad press (at best) for doing what nature intends them to do. It is easy to get drawn into the emotion of predation but it is an essential part of every food chain throughout the world. There is seldom a case of there being too many predators as, if there were very soon there would be too few prey and they would starve - natures balance… sadly it seems that we are the only obvious exception to this rule!
Fur and feathers can further cloud our judgement. The sandeels preyed upon by the tern and the zooplankton consumed by the sandeel are predators and prey alike but their place in the food chain excites less passion than a sparrowhawk taking a robin or, say, a peregrine taking a tern.
This is the first time I’ve known of a peregrine taking one of our common terns and as the colony reaches its peak towards the end of this month the chances of a repeat are lessened considerably. With well over 100 birds on the islands that will defend their air space mob handed and will harry, hassle and drive off all potential threats to them and their progeny.
Nick, there have been other instances of this.
On 09-Jul-09 a Peregrine killed and flew-off with a CT. Also on 05-Jul-07 a female made two separate and unsuccessful attacks. NickT recalls an earlier successful attack sometime during 2001-3, when he was working at the VC, but not precise details.
That's a very good photo Dan got: was that his tame crow that follows him around at Radipole?