Red Tailed Hawk kill

[DelSc]

One spring I was walking at the edge of the woods by my house around dusk. I spotted a red tailed hawk high up in a pine tree. I later walked out into the open near a bird feeder, and felt a whoosh of air behind my head, and heard what sounded like something flying away. By the time I turned to look it was gone.

I thought I was losing it, or imagined it, so I continued to walk, but then felt/heard it again. I kept walking but prepared myself so that I could turn quickly if I heard anything. Sure enough the third time I saw the hawk dive bombing me, then flying back up into a different tree. He went back and forth between trees dive bombing me five or six times total (never touching me) as I walked back to the house.

Later that week I saw a few smaller birds teaming up and harassing a hawk. Not sure if it was the same hawk, but they would take turns flying at him and sort of nip at him. It was an interesting display of nature.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Redtails are so thick around here there are almost no rabbits or pheasents come hunting season. I wish they would target ground squirls. The cyotes dig up the ditch banks to feed on the ground squirls because the hawks have eater all the other small game.

Dan

While hawks get blamed for wiping out all the game, the fact is that without a healthy population of prey, it is the redtails and other bird of prey species that will become scarce. The lack of small game is directly related to a loss of habitat from development, fence rows being cut down and plowed under, etc.

 

[QRTRHRS]

One spring I was walking at the edge of the woods by my house around dusk. I spotted a red tailed hawk high up in a pine tree. I later walked out into the open near a bird feeder, and felt a whoosh of air behind my head, and heard what sounded like something flying away. By the time I turned to look it was gone.

I thought I was losing it, or imagined it, so I continued to walk, but then felt/heard it again. I kept walking but prepared myself so that I could turn quickly if I heard anything. Sure enough the third time I saw the hawk dive bombing me, then flying back up into a different tree. He went back and forth between trees dive bombing me five or six times total (never touching me) as I walked back to the house.

Later that week I saw a few smaller birds teaming up and harassing a hawk. Not sure if it was the same hawk, but they would take turns flying at him and sort of nip at him. It was an interesting display of nature.

The bird was protecting it's nest. Sometimes redtails will strike and sometimes not. Lucky it was not a goshawk. They usually mean business.

 

[MossRoad]

I've never seen a red tailed hawk take a bird. I've only seen them take mice, rabbits and squirrels. I've seen cooper's hawks take doves, pigeons, birds and all forms of mammals on many occasions. We also have ospreys in our area as well as a pair of nesting peregrine falcons downtown. Those are fun to watch take pigeons right over the heads of people on the sidewalks. :laughing:

 

[om21braz]

Interesting to see red-tails' take a snake too.

 

[podagrower]

While I was having lunch at a friends property on day (opening day for dove hunting, and we were waiting for the birds to come home in the late afternoon), we go to see a hawk snatch a dove out of the air. Awesome.

Around our house, there is a pair of hawks (red shoulder) that hunt together. They like to use the clearing from the highway to our house to drive doves. One hawk on the left, one on the right, above the dove, leaving the dove with the options of flying into the house or pulling up into the hawks talons. It seems to be about 50/50 what the doves do. It is a little disturbing to have a dove hit the house while you are having dinner though.

 

[Ken45101]

Its good thing mother nature pets don't turn on us humans.

You just live in a safe area. Although attacks are rare, grizzlies and polar bears think they are the top of the food chain, not humans. There is a town up on Hudson's Bay (Canada) where the polar bears wander through town in the fall and people have to be very cautious going outside.

Ken

 

[brin]

Several times now while out bush hogging I have see dog fights in the sky...as Crows gang up on a Hawk invading their air space. It was fun to watch from the tractor as the crows actually took turns dive bombing the hawk and finally driving it away....just like the fighter dog fights you see in the old war movies. Anyone else ever see crows do that..?

 

[Carl_NH]

Yep - Crows are very protective of their area. When I hear the crows squawking I know they are up to something either hawks or fox chasing.. One morning sitting on the patio I hear all the crows getting closer and closer, next thing I see a red fox running through the yard with them in pursuit dive bombing the fox.

Same thing with the hawks they chase them from tree to tree - usually 5-6 crows take after the hawk until it leaves the area. The screech the hawks make drive all the local chipmunks into their holes too. But with the abundance of wildlife its all about balance in nature.

 

[czechsonofagun]

I think some kind of predator bird management would be good, but since they told me to mind my own business I have a lot of free time