Eagles foiling waterfowl hunts.

JONOV

Twelve Pointer
I wonder how long its gonna be before they start showing up with acute lead poisoning.
Eh...I know they will eat terrestrial animals but really they seem to be scavengers and fish eaters mostly. I've seen way more hawks and owls screwing wtih small game than I have eagles.

Watched them massacring ducks when the lakes were freezing over in MN. Ducks would late as long as possible to go south. They’d hole up in the tiny, room sized potholes of open water and the eagles would be there by the dozen picking them off, and then sitting on the ice around it eating them, looking like big bald headed penguins. Looked like something off Nat Geo

I remember watching them when I'd ice fish...they'd gladly steal a fish from you when you went back into your shelter. Didn't seem to care if it was exceptionally frozen.
 

Mike Noles aka conman

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
They can catch a newborn calf in a skinny minute and have it's eyes out before it's momma can lick it's ass.
Same thing with lambs.

As far as waterfowl, I watched two eagles break up a friends swan hunt last Saturday. They perched close and would make an attempt on each group decoying. They never caught one, but totally screwed his hunt.
 

Scrub

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Feral cats and loss of habitat are much more of a threat.

I disagree I use to quail hunt 2-3 times a week. Loss of habitat is a big thing due to small family farms being turned into large farmers leasing everything and farming it all to the wood line. But hawks,eagles,coons etc have become a huge problem. When I grew up people trapped fur bearing animals plus farmers killed foxes, stray cats and hawks/owls etc because they killed their chickens etc. When we hunted we also helped control all the predators of quali/rabbits, hawks/foxes/feral cats etc. Now people don’t trap due to fur prices, farmers farm to the wood line, hawks/owls/everything else is protected so small game suffers tremendously. My opinion with less cover predators took the upper hand and until it gets controlled nothing will change but only get worse. I don’t see farmers giving up the wood line so controlling all predators is the only saving grace.
 
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shurshot

Ten Pointer
Same thing with lambs.

As far as waterfowl, I watched two eagles break up a friends swan hunt last Saturday. They perched close and would make an attempt on each group decoying. They never caught one, but totally screwed his hunt.
True, waterfowl are most fearful of an eagle. Marsh hawks, Ospreys, etc can fly over an impoundment all day and never cause birds to flush. An eagle taking that same flight pattern puts just about all of them in the air and out of harms way. They know the potential threat to them.

Owls are deadly on ducks at night. I’ve shared this before but had an owl 3 seasons ago knock over and gouge 2 cork black duck decoys I’d left out the evening before. I was setting the decoys out and asked my partner why did he place them upside down?? Talon marks were obvious.
 

fowlhntr

Six Pointer
I had a large great horned owl hit a wonderduck twice one morning. Each time a hard lick, after the 2nd attempt he lit in a tree beside the blind to ponder just why that duck was so damn difficult. Lol!
 

JONOV

Twelve Pointer
I had a large great horned owl hit a wonderduck twice one morning. Each time a hard lick, after the 2nd attempt he lit in a tree beside the blind to ponder just why that duck was so damn difficult. Lol!
Had the same thing happen to a mojo dove decoy once.
 
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