A meal for a hawk

[deadaim]

Show of hands, how many of you have shot a pest bird and had a bird of prey fly down to feast on it?

I shot this pigeon off a telephone line and it dropped to the ground. After a moment this red tailed hawk flew in to grab it and carry it off. I was surprised and it was a beautiful thing to behold.

 

[Odoyle]

Had cats sprint for dropped birds and they are smart animals for sure!

 

[cea1960]

A Redtail grabbed a chipper within seconds of me shooting it.

 

[L.Leon]

I once had a hawk return multiple times during a two week period where it benefited from 13 starlings and three red squirrels. I shot in my yard.

 

[Blackpaw]

When I was living in Idaho and Utah we would head to Wyoming for prairie dog shooting and well, you could always count on some local raptors showing up after some shots were finished to collect the left overs, so to speak.

 

[SDellinger]

I shot a pigeon off a hay barn and it rolled off the roof. Just as it cleared the edge a hawk caught it mid air. The hawks show up at the dairy when I do. Have fun, Scott

 

[Dingfelder]

That is very cool. Love hawks. I just wish they would get more squirrels around here.

 

[RobR]

Different occasion than the picture but I shot a starling in a tree full of them. Clean dropped my poa but the pellet clipped a second injuring him and a Kestrel picked up my spare, snatching him mid air.

 

[deadaim]

No way! Stories of seeing hawks catch a falling bird in mid-air is so cool. One day I hope to witness that.

Another thought, when hunters shoot pigeons to eat or if a Hawk consumes it, is there trace lead from the pellet that may cause harm? In my case, I think it was a pass through shot, but I don't know for sure.

 

[JungleShooter]

(2x)

Matthias

 

[Revoman]

I had shot a ground squirrel last year from about 75 yards. It tumbled off of the very large boulder that it was upon and hitting the ground rolled downhill for about 15 yards or so and paused. Watching closely, I could see it moving, as I drew another bead on it, but after wriggling around, it continued to roll down the open bushed hill (long hill!). It finally came to rest so I just drew another bead on it when a VERY large brown wing came into view through my scope. I immediately stopped my trigger pull and moved the muzzle away to discover a large Golden Eagle sitting atop my squirrel, which was now about 40 yards out. Totally surprised, I stood in awe as the great bird flew off with the squirrel in its talons. That same eagle regularly visits that hillside and sits on a large boulder overlooking that hillside when ever it sees me shooting in the area. A truly magnificent, regal bird.

I also had what I believe to be a Prairie Falcon (It was definitely a Falcon), nab a downed barnyard pigeon just is it hit the ground from my shooting it from a light pole at my permission property. It immediately flew upon a large haybarn to munch its prize throwing feathers everywhere. What a beautiful bird of prey as I observed it through my scope (without a pellet in the chamber)! I had that exact same experience happen with a Cooper's Hawk at the same power pole and it too flew to the haybarn to enjoy its 'free' prize.

Lastly, after shooting a Starling from a tall bare Eucalyptus tree, a large Red Tail Hawk flew down from a tree behind me and grab the dead starling taking it back to 'his tree' to munch it. That Red Tail is a regular at that location that I see most every weekend that I go there. I try to provide it with a good diet of Starlings when I can.

Raptors are the most beautiful birds in the world in my opinion.

mike

 

[davelarson]

One time a little northern pigmy owl grabbed a sparrow I shot and he got it before it hit the ground. He was in the same tree as the sparrows and the sparrows had already spotted him. Very cool to see. Interesting to hear the other stories.

 

[Flintsack]

I spent many years when I was younger chasing them with my camera. I have watched them hunt on their own many times. I have never had one grab some thing from me which would be really cool.

 

[SDellinger]

My Dad used to shoot them back in the 50's. I sat in the passenger seat and he shot across the bench seat out the back window. No wonder I can't hear now. Savage 222 with a Weaver 10X scope that cost as much as the gun. I have never shot at one. How times have changed.

 

[lbc_PSI]

Not as "pretty" as other raptors, but a very functional design. 

Kinda like an FX vs Edgun. ;-)

 

[KatoKevin454]

I use to use a red laser on my Sheridan to shoot Rats on the telephone lines, all the Cats nearby seen the laser and would wait under the lines for falling Rats....

 

[deadaim]

Mike, I really enjoyed reading about your marvelous encounters with birds of prey! 

Thanks to you and all the other who shared.

 

[Ranchibi]

A friend and I pest starlings on his property and when the redtails hear the shots, they come to feed at the yellow beak buffet!

 

[Eddie00]

Always a great thing when you get to feed the predators of the sky!

 

[Flintsack]

I responded to this post earlier in the week, and ironically something somewhat similar just happened to me today. I like to keep the red squirrels at bay, they tend to destroy things. Like houses and decks. I saw one quite agitated up on a tree limb about 50 yards away this morning. He was shaking his tail Vigorously. They usually move so fast they’re almost impossible to shoot. This one was stationary. Big mistake.

I had a .177 Loaded and Handy, Not my first choice but very accurate. I popped him with it and he dropped like a rock. Then I saw him slowly pulling himself back up the tree with great effort, front legs only. He made it about 6 feet up the tree, I had the crosshairs on him and was just hitting the second stage on the trigger for the finish shot, and a huge black Blur jumped out of the brush beneath him and pulled him down out of sight. 


It was a big midnight black cat. We have a truce because he kills the mice. I know he also eats the stuff I leave lying around. But I’ve never seen him pull something down right in front of me. He just came out of nowhere, it was like a horror movie in real life for squirrels.

Very cool. 

mike