Predatory birds??

[goosedragon]

Quote:
About 4 years ago there was a ~12 minute video of a bald vs a malard on the water. Every time the eagle would dive from the air the duck would submarine and come up some place different(you might be suprized how long a duck can stay under and the distance they can get) there must have been about 8 attacks. The eagle became so water logged that it climbed up on a dock to try to dry off. The duck (female) broke water and quacked twice at the eagle to see what it would do. When the eagle did not take to the air the duck gave the famous jump from the water to the air and was out of there like a shot. I have no ideal if this is typical, in the air and on land I would bet on the eagle but that duck made the eagle look pretty bad when it would dive and excape like that. My ribs were sore from LMAO at that eagle.

 

[RamblinLizard]

Thank you for all your replies I really like the idea of luring natural eagle enemies such as jays and crows to the yard...we used to have more crows around but not so much anymore. I won't attack the eagle..it was amazing to see one so up close but if he swoops down on my buddies while I'm around you can bet I'll stick up for them. I wish I could keep a goat where I live but I believe the rural area I live in has some type of ordinance against that. Anyway thanks again for your help!

 

[katharinad]

We have lot of mosquitoes in the basin. So I have put up lots of nesting boxes for the tree swallows and mountain blue birds. Around the house almost all fence posts have a house sitting on them. The swallows are real good attackers. They bomb dive falcons, hawks, eagles etc. Could that be the reason for the bald eagles to stay away. I know the swallows are no match in size but boy they make it a group attack thing. That must be annoying for a big bird being bombarded with speedy little swallows.

 

[desertdarlene]

Chances are that he may never bother your ducks, but it's good to have a heads up, especially when they're swimming in a pond. I think I read somewhere that the bald eagles' diet is about 70% fish, but they are opportunistic and it's good to not take a chance.

 

[katharinad]

We have tons of California ground squirrels. They are very large and easy to catch. That and all the salmon in the world.

 

[desertdarlene]

I just thought of something that might sound a little offbeat. If you don't mind noisy little birds, encourage and surround yourself with little killdeer. They will make a "special" call for birds of prey that will alert you. And, they can be heard from far away. However, they are very vocal and make noise all the time. Sometimes, they are quiet when a large bird flies over, but usually they are pretty reliable with their alarms.

 

[katharinad]

I don't worry to much about prey. I'm thinking of getting some Embden geese next spring. Something else nice and large. I've noticed that my dogs and ducks have a nice relationship going. My dogs sometimes go over and lay next to the fence of the outdoor duck area. The ducks usually come over and lay next to them on the other side of the fence. My dogs sometimes bark, for no reason it seems, and the ducks will run to the gate wanting to go home to the duck house. In the late afternoon we usually get out ducks into the backyard from where they can go into their duck house. This is a shared area for the dogs and ducks. Sometimes Amber (dog) will take out a rawhide and lay in the grass. The ducks usually come over and lay right next to her. They are really cute how they interact with each other. There is some trust going and the ducks feel that the dogs protect them. So 9 ducks and 4 dogs means big pack/flock in our house. We love that they go along so well.

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
My little call ducks used to bully my huge african goose. When he wanted to use the pool he would chase everything out of there. The calls would take to air attacks(They could really fly well) and chase him out of the pool. I also had one of my nesting geese mobbed by crows after her eggs. When I got there to help her she had some nasty cuts on the head and one just missed her eye. She Knocked 3 down but they got all her eggs.

 

[KansasKid]

Quote:
No, they don't do that.

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If it becomes a problem you can apply for a permit

"TAKE OF DEPREDATING EAGLES
A Federal Eagle Depredation Permit is required to take or disturb bald or golden eagles that have become
injurious to wildlife, agriculture or other personal property, or human health and safety. A depredation permit is
intended to provide short-term relief from depredation damage until long-term measures can be implemented to reduce
or eliminate the depredation problem through nonlethal control techniques."

http://www.fws.gov/forms/3-200-16.pdf

 

[sourland]

You can apply for all the permits you want, but it is very unlikely that one will be issued. Has anyone every received such a permit? Several years ago while traveling fron NJ to Md. I saw a pair of bald eagles eating a snow goose in a field by the road.