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Birds > Charadriiformes > Great skua Stercorarius skua

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An amazing bird. In flight it resembles an eagle, anyway the predator rather than a representative of family Charadriiformes. Only up close webs can be seen between the toes. The nesting place of the great skua is also interesting. Endless areas covered in black sand and gravel are the sites of great skua nests. Amazing gallery, how different from any others. I've added some pictures with the skua in the background to show its natural environment. Once, while driving I saw its nest in the vicinity of the road. Its weight is about 1.4-1.8 kilogram and a wingspan is about 1.4 meter. If it appears in the area of arctic tern or common redshank nesting, it is heavily attacked as a potential aggressor. So it feeds not only on fish. It is not easy to photograph when flying. Fortunately the two contacts with the great skua enabled me to collect pictures showing it in its natural environment. It is a pity that the first and the second session took place at midday when the light was a bit shivery. Unfortunately, because of the long distance I managed to record few sequences of skua’s sounds.

Stercorarius skua
Stercorarius skua
Stercorarius skua
Stercorarius skua
Stercorarius skua
Stercorarius skua
Stercorarius skua
Stercorarius skua
Stercorarius skua
Stercorarius skua
Stercorarius skua
Stercorarius skua
Stercorarius skua
Stercorarius skua
Stercorarius skua
Stercorarius skua
Stercorarius skua
Stercorarius skua