This is a two-part story, the first installment appearing today:
Assault
We were cruising in the zodiac when a large Glaucous Gull attacked a much smaller juvenile Black-legged Kittiwake overhead in midair. The action came without warning and was as fast as it was frenzied making photographic acquisition of the action, framing and tracking it challenging, especially from the moving boat.
Mortally injured, the Kittiwake plummeted to the water’s surface where the Glaucous Gull followed in vicious pursuit seizing its prey and dragging it to shore. Once there, the predator continued its assault until the murder was consummated. What happened next was as stunning as what had just occurred.
STAY TUNED for part two, The Misappropriated Meal.
~ Anecdote and Glaucous Gull and Black-legged Kittiwake capture, Assault © Jerry L. Ferrara, Svalbard, Norway