Of course I pretty clearly stated that I don't think tangling is
impossible. What I stated was that I was skeptical about it as the most
likely explanation in this instance. If you see a bird missing feet or
toes, I don't think putting forward one particular explanation as the most
likely cause is very accurate.
Jeremy
On 24/02/2013 12:23 AM, "Peter Shute" <> wrote:
> It seems odd that species that have fed on or near these bivalves for many
> thousands of years are dumb enough to let themselves be injured regularly
> by them to this extent.
>
> There's no doubt that they occasionally get trapped, as this has been
> observed. But is there any evidence that this can lead to loss of a toe,
> let alone a whole foot?
>
> According to this web page, fishing line entanglement is very common:
>
> http://www.fishingmonthly.com.au/Articles/Display/11532-The-Dangers-Of-Discarded-Line
>
> Peter Shute
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On 23/02/2013, at 7:25 PM, "David Clark" <
> <>> wrote:
>
> I saw the footless Pied Oystercatcher on a sandbank in Merimbula Lake
> yesterday. Feeding on the mudflats nearby were two Eastern Curlews; one of
> which was limping badly and was making very heavy work of its foraging.
>
> When it flew to another spot I could see that its injured foot remained
> splayed and was not tucked up for flight as usual. Anadara is a large
> estuarine bivalve and I wonder if the Curlew tangled with one?
>
> The mudflats are home to millions of small purple crabs (we called them
> purple people eaters when I was a child and I don't have my reference books
> with me to find the proper name). The crabs swarm across the mudflats in
> waves and it was interesting to watch the flow of crabs when four
> Bar-tailed Godwits and one Silver Gull began feeding on them.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
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