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From: Justin Hite
Sighting_Date: 7/25/03
Remote Name: 209.221.192.34
Date: 25 Jul 2003
Time: 22:22:01 -0400
I didn't see the initial attack, but looked up when I heard outraged quacking. There was an adult male California Gull with the back end of a small flailing Gadwall chick sticking out of his gullet. And the outraged quacking was coming from three adult Gadwalls that were absolutely pummeling the gull. I've never seen ducks acting so vicious. They were biting the gull in the neck, bill-stabbing his head, getting on his back and nearly pushing him all the way under the water. Somehow he managed to finish swallowing and get away; he tried to fly off right away but was either too heavy or still recovering from the thrashing he received and couldn't make it into the air. He then spent the next eight minutes swimming around, visibly readjusting his meal in his esophagus, before successfully lifting off. Also at County Park, there was a juvenile Greater White-fronted Goose loafing with a flock of Canada Geese, and a Bonaparte's Gull feeding on Alkali Flies in the mudflats. The eldest of this season's California Gull fledglings are making forays away from the colony, and there were at least forty of them feeding and loafing on shore and in the near shore waters off the County Park boardwalk. They're fun to watch, most can't fly well yet, especially when the wind comes up.