Panic on the machair as a predator approaches

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/11/panic-on-the-machair-as-a-predator-approaches

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Far in the distance the craggy peaks of Skye have been rendered Alpine-like by the overnight snow. Away to the north the high hills of Harris also bear a covering, and even South Uist’s less lofty heights have a dusting of white. There is a hint of warmth in the morning sun, but what makes this a glorious day to be outside is the complete absence of wind, for with even a light breeze it would be skin-flayingly cold.

We’re not the only ones to appreciate the calm, dry weather, for there are aerial predators abroad and the machair is full of birds for them to prey upon. Though we cannot see the hunters their presence is signalled by the groups of waders and starlings that suddenly rise in dense panicked flocks.

They wheel in tight packs, swirling and shifting like distant smoke. The disturbance moves along the machair, new flocks taking flight as previous ones begin to settle, the pursuer, perhaps a merlin or a peregrine, having failed to snatch an individual from the mass.

Then the greylag geese erupt into the air with a great clatter of wings and a babble of noise that signals there may be an eagle in the vicinity. The greylags make no attempt to gain height but flee rapidly just above ground level, their noisy alarm alerting more and more of their grazing brethren, which launch from the fields to join them.

They sweep onwards, heading for the nearest loch, seeking sanctuary on the water, where they land in a flurry of splashes, quite unlike their usual gliding approach.

Following not far behind is a young sea eagle. Paying not the slightest attention to the geese now bobbing nervously on the crowded water, the white-tailed eagle continues on its way with unhurried wingbeats, finally vanishing from sight.

Yet the danger may not have passed, for only a few moments later another sea eagle, an adult, has appeared, the bright sun sometimes lighting the huge yellow bill and sometimes the pure white tail as it circles silently overhead.

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