Rotgans Branta bernicla en Bergeend Tadorna tadorna als prooien van Slechtvalk Falco peregrinus

In February 2009, on the coast of the Frisian Wadden Sea, an adult female Peregrine Falcon was repeatedly observed chasing Brent Geese, once even hitting a goose sufficiently hard to produce a cloud of feathers. This falcon also flushed and pursued Shelducks. Plucked remains of depredated Shelducks were found in the area but could not be attributed conclusively to Peregrine Falcons. Three observations of Peregrine Falcons feeding on Brent Geese suggested that Peregrines may actively hunt and kill Brent Geese. The first record, reported by Simon Unsen from the Wadden Sea isle of Ameland, involved a Peregrine plucking a Brent Goose, while being pestered by Carrion Crows Corvus corone. The second record, reported on 17 December 2008 by Jan Jaap Hooft, also from Ameland, included a photograph taken by Jelena Lebedeva (Photo 1) of a first-year Peregrine plucking a freshly killed Brent Goose; a trail of feathers indicated that the bird had been captured in shallow water in the high tide zone. The third incident, observed on 20 November 2005 by Albert Ferwerda in northern Frisia, also involved a first-year Peregrine feeding on a Brent; upon inspection the carcass was still warm. Other large prey killed by Peregrines at inland sites in The Netherlands included two Shelducks, a Great Egret Egretta alba and two Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo.