Giant Water Bugs

I video taped a week ago Giant Water Bugs that we collected one morning below our yard light in Alberta Canada. We have had these big bugs before but never as many as this. My dad and I scooped up over 60 of them, they all came in one night. One of our dogs was barking lots and when my dad went to check there were about 10 flying around the yard light. We live near a creek and figure that is where they came from. The next day we decided to take some pictures of them, we learnt that when they are about to fly they pump their bodies. We figure this is to get blood to their wings. When the first one took off a Northern Flicker swooped out of one of our trees and grabbed it. It let it go and the beetle continued to fly, the bird bit it again only to let go again. The bug had got away. The next one that flew was not as lucky, it was snatched up by a Bluejay. It picked it apart in the tree. The third suprised my dad and me, it was a Chickadee, and the bug was almost as big as it. The little bird made it to the spruce tree where it dropped it, the bug got away. A few flew at us making us scream and run, my dad can scream like a little girl. Has anyone else had this happen to them ? Tell me about your bug stories.