Marsh Harrier mantles a Coot

A juvenile Marsh Harrier is hunting over Noah’s Lake on the Somerset Levels. It disturbs some Coot at the south end of the lake and a couple of the juvenile Coots “escape” into the middle of the lake. The Marsh Harrier follows them and lands on a tree stump where it sits for a while whilst things settle down.

The Marsh Harrier sees its opportunity and flies to the Coot. But just in time the Coot sees the Marsh Harrier coming and dives.

The Coot can’t sustain its dive and when the Coot surfaces, the Marsh Harrier swoops down on to the Coot and holds it underwater.

The Marsh Harrier sits mantling its’ catch as first of all two Canada Geese and then a Greylag Goose swim over to see the spectacle. You can see the Coot’s leg sticking out of the water.

The Marsh Harrier sits on the Coot for over 20 minutes as it tries to determine how it is going to move its’ prey. In need of rest and the opportunity of drying out, the Marsh Harrier leaves the Coot and flies up onto a tree stump where he sits for 15 minutes.

The Marsh Harrier has 2 attempts at picking up its’ prey, but the Coot is too heavy and eventually the Marsh Harrier has to give up.

From the time we first saw the Marsh Harrier at the south of the lake to the time it finally gave up was over 2 hours. The Marsh Harrier must have expended a huge amount of energy.