Many birds
predate on young salmon, and perhaps the most infamous
is the
Goosander or saw bill duck Mergus merganser.
This bird is a speciallist feeder. It has a serated
bill adapted
for catching fish. There are less than 3000 resident
pairs in the UK. Unforetunatey for salmon most of the
seem to be in Scotland. There are over 50,000 pairs
in Europe,
many in Norway. Unforetunately for salmon around 10,000
of them come to Scotland for overwintering.
See the RSPB site on:
Goosanders,
Grey
Heron, Cormorant,
See also Fish
Eating Birds and Salmonids in Scotland (Scottish
Executite study).
Diet
and prey selection of cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo)
at Loch Leven, a major stocked trout fishery.
It is illegal to shoot fish eating birds without a
licence from the Scottish Government.
Each year the Board assists by conducting bird counts
over the catchment requiring multiple teams armed with
binoculars.
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