Alpo Posted July 10 Posted July 10 I was taking some trash out, and I look up, and there is a hawk sitting on the top rail of the fence. He's down there about even with that skinny tree in the left yard. I'm standing at the gate and the fence posts are 10 feet apart so he's about 16, 17 feet away. That's the closest I've ever been to one. I will occasionally see one flying way overhead, and about 9 years ago one landed in the top of the pecan tree, but the pecan tree was quite a bit higher than 20 feet. So we crop the picture a little. And then crop it a little more. I realize those are not real great pictures, but cell phone camera in the daylight. I'm surprised I got that good of a shot.
Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 Posted July 10 Posted July 10 I had one land on a fence post at my back gate while I was heading towards it. Had a dead pigeon in one talon. He took off carrying the pigeon like it was nothing. You don't realize just how large a bird they are until you see something like that for a size comparison.
Eyesa Horg Posted July 10 Posted July 10 We have one that nails Mourning Doves, flying and on the ground. Amazing that it doesn't break the window when it slams it grabbing a dove! It's just a burst of feathers and off he goes with the dove while we recover from the heart attack of them slamming the window!
Alpo Posted July 10 Author Posted July 10 I never thought about that. With seeing one flying overhead, and seeing one roosting in the tree in the backyard, and now seeing this one on the fence - this is possibly/probably a hunting area. I have found bird feathers several times in the backyard, while cutting the grass. But there's a feral cat who has decided he lives in my backyard. And I always assumed it was his hunting debris. Never thought about it being a hawk.
Cypress Sun Posted July 10 Posted July 10 20 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said: We have one that nails Mourning Doves, flying and on the ground. Amazing that it doesn't break the window when it slams it grabbing a dove! It's just a burst of feathers and off he goes with the dove while we recover from the heart attack of them slamming the window! Yep. When I lived on the edge of a large conservation area the Red Tail Hawks would swoop down and BLAM, just a big poof of feathers and the Mourning Dove was gone. It would go sit in a tree and eat it. They did that all the time there. I watched one eat a 4' black snake once in a tree about 5' away from me. He just kept that snake in his talons until it quit squirming as much and then ate it headfirst. I expected him to tear the snake up and eat it but he just ate the snake whole. I see them every once in a while on the fence looking for prey where I live now, but I haven't seen them actually catch anything in the last 20 or so years of living here. My gal has, horrified her though.
J-BAR #18287 Posted July 10 Posted July 10 Odds are it's a Cooper's hawk; more common than a Sharpshinned hawk. Expert birders have trouble telling them apart. Look 'em up and take your chances. And buy a lottery ticket. You are lucky to see either species, much less get a photo.
Alpo Posted July 10 Author Posted July 10 47 minutes ago, J-BAR #18287 said: You are lucky to see either species, much less get a photo. This is the one in the pecan tree. According to the file name, it was October of 2016.
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted July 10 Posted July 10 We have a lot of hawks in central Arizona. I agree with J-Bar, though it could be a red tail hawk too. You're right about cell phones. It could be any of a half dozen and depending on the season, the foliage, and a number of other factors it's hard to tell.
Alpo Posted July 10 Author Posted July 10 First, I thought I was agreeing with you. You said they were rare, I said, "yes I've seen two in 10 years". They must be as common as dirt. That was a slightly sarcastic description. But second, I don't remember asking anything on this thread. I just posted a picture.
Subdeacon Joe Posted July 10 Posted July 10 I got this and several still, ran them through 3 different Avian ID apps and got 5 possible answers.
Alpo Posted July 10 Author Posted July 10 Joe, I don't know what yours is, but that's not what mine was. Yours seems to have a cream colored body. Mine looks like he's wearing a checkered vest. He's got the cream colored body but then he's got random dark feathers all over his chest and belly. And yours does not have a real pronounced beak. Mine has a "hawk bill" that is very pronounced - almost like an eagle. My pictures might suck but I was close enough to get a good view. 😁
Subdeacon Joe Posted July 10 Posted July 10 I wasn't suggesting that it was the same, just that identification isn't easy.
watab kid Posted July 10 Posted July 10 they are majestic , ive mentioned before or elsewhere that one pounced on a chipmunk on my patio about five feet from where i was standing at my grill one evening , he just looked up at me and dared me to contest , i just continued grilling and he flew off with the chipmunk , it startled me when he hit as it was a sound id never heard before - i didnt like that chipmunk much anyway he was digging under my sidewalk yes mine was a red tailed hawk , they visit here often along with eagles and blue herons , ducks and geese , we also get sparrow hawks shrikes and great horned owls on a regular basis , my back yard is like a park in the middle of town we have deer and turkeys , ground hogs , coyotes , mink , beaver and on one occasion a rabid racoon back when we were visited by racoons regularly - he was here by a window for over 24 hours - never moved so i dispatched him
watab kid Posted July 10 Posted July 10 never had one of those here yet , but did have a visit by an osprey that took one of my squills
Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 Posted July 10 Posted July 10 4 hours ago, Alpo said: I have found bird feathers several times in the backyard, while cutting the grass. But there's a feral cat who has decided he lives in my backyard. And I always assumed it was his hunting debris. Never thought about it being a hawk. We've got several feral cats around here. Every now and then I find a feather pile. They're sometimes in my shed, but when not tend to be in a corner of the yard. I doubt that a hawk is going into my shed to feed. I do think that a cat would get someplace defensible to dine. A couple years ago, I was sitting at my Command Center, (probably here in the Saloon), when my wife yelled to me from the backyard. A hawk had dive bombed her for some reason and she'd hit her face on a paver breaking a tooth. She keeps an eye on the sky now and retreats to the deck by the house if she sees one of them.
Chantry Posted July 10 Posted July 10 I talked with a falconer years ago at a Renaissance fair about the increase in the number of hawks I was seeing here in the Northeast. She said that a positive change in the type of pesticide being used had resulted in a higher survival rare of hawk chicks. I believe she said it applied to most/all of the birds of prey in the US. And don't forget owls might be killing birds and other prey at night and leaving those feathers on the ground at striking it's prey.
Alpo Posted July 10 Author Posted July 10 Found a dead squirrel one time in the backyard. He had been ripped open and his head and viscera were gone. That's it. His arms and legs - muscles - were still there. Just his head and his innards gone. Again, I assumed a cat.
Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L Posted July 10 Posted July 10 14 hours ago, Alpo said: I was taking some trash out, and I look up, and there is a hawk sitting on the top rail of the fence. He's down there about even with that skinny tree in the left yard. I'm standing at the gate and the fence posts are 10 feet apart so he's about 16, 17 feet away. That's the closest I've ever been to one. I will occasionally see one flying way overhead, and about 9 years ago one landed in the top of the pecan tree, but the pecan tree was quite a bit higher than 20 feet. So we crop the picture a little. And then crop it a little more. I realize those are not real great pictures, but cell phone camera in the daylight. I'm surprised I got that good of a shot. And he is looking right at you.
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted July 10 Posted July 10 10 hours ago, T.K. said: Peregrin Falcon? We have them around here. I've seen them a few times, but they are so fast I'd have to be more than lucky to ever get a picture of one. They seem to travel in pairs and I've been told they are the fastest animal on Earth (over 75 mph?). I can believe it. Never seen one standing still.
Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 Posted July 10 Posted July 10 Here's an odd one for you: One time when I got home from the gym, there was a dead pigeon laying in the yard that hadn't been there when I left. Wondering how it got there, I turned the TV to my Security Camera system. I moved the time around to look for it, When I finally found it, the darn thing had just dropped out of the sky. Just, whoomp.
Alpo Posted July 10 Author Posted July 10 1 hour ago, Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L said: And he is looking right at you. When I first saw him he was staring out across the back yard. And I go in the house to get my cell phone, figuring that when I came back he would be gone. I went to exactly where I had been before, and he quit looking in the yard and turned around and looked at me. Maybe he didn't like profile shots. Or maybe he thought his left side was the better side but that would involve turning completely around, so he just did a full face. You know how picky some of these celebrities can be when the paparazzi shows up.
Chantry Posted July 10 Posted July 10 1 hour ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said: We have them around here. I've seen them a few times, but they are so fast I'd have to be more than lucky to ever get a picture of one. They seem to travel in pairs and I've been told they are the fastest animal on Earth (over 75 mph?). I can believe it. Never seen one standing still. In a steep dive they can reach 240 mph
Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 Posted July 10 Posted July 10 55 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said: Got a neighbor with a pellet gun? 🤣 If there's anybody in the area like that it would be me! I've really considered working on the stray cats, but our next door neighbor leaves food out for them, so it's not worth the potential hassle. Besides, I went over to throw the body into the wash so that the coyotes could deal with it and couldn't see any injuries.
Calamity Kris Posted July 11 Posted July 11 Since we're talking about Hawks, I filmed this one from the driveway a couple of days ago. My brother who works with a bird of prey rescue on the weekends says it's a juvenile red shouldered hawk. Well, I found the remains of what he was snacking on a couple of days later.
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