My wife and I witnessed a shocking thing yesterday

[Skeet 028]

Uhhh Yeah..Wolves and hawks

Hawks are just out hunting and are cool to watch. Wolves are evil and must be eliminated.

Well when I was a kid we were told even in the hunting mags to kill hawks as they were a scourge on game animals. And I do consider wolves evil..especially when I have a pack of 'em in my yard. and owls..evil also..one just killed our outside cat. I didn't mind the native wolves here in Wy..but these Canadian transplants are not our friends. Not scared of ya either..even wolves in Alaska are wary of humans.

As far as hawks..I was hunting quail one afternoon many years ago. Dogs stood what I thought was a single. 3 came up..killed one and I started to track on another with my little Win 42 when a big ol' redtail nailed him. I thought it was really odd that the first shot didn't scare him off. I guess he was truly focused. I have also watched Peregrines nail pigeons. It is a sight to see. We also have a cliff behind the house here and Golden eagles nest there. Watched one catch a small to medium coyote one morning. DRT. Made a good coyote outta him..

 

[radar1972]

This experience is still difficult to believe, and without the anonymity of the internet, I do not speak of it.

We have a man-made Blue Bird house just to the outer edge of the yard where we could sit on the deck, watch and enjoy, without disturbing the residents.

When I mowed and edged around it, the parents would wait just a little ways off till I left before bringing food to the young ones, and often I would turn off the mower and talk to them, assuring them I meant no harm........Felt a little silly, maybe, but it seems they would cock their heads and comprehend.

One afternoon there was such a commotion at the back glass door by both parents, we stepped out to see what was going on. They flew back and forth between us and the birdhouse till I noticed old "Mr No Hips", starting to coil himself around the mounting post, heading for the babies.

I have zero patience with an unruly snake, and I dispatched him with a garden hoe. Seems old black snake could "dish it out", but he couldn't take it too well, when face to face with a sharp hoe.

While that pair, (I think) of birds had returned to the house several years in a row; after they got their younguns flying that year, they never returned.
I have taken the box down, cleaned and painted, and will put it back in a different location this spring........If "spring" ever gets here again.

I had a very similar experience a few years back. Catbirds built a nest in a bush right outside our living room window. Every day we would slowly open the blinds and look down into the nest at the four eggs and the mom and dad catbird watching over them. One day my daughter heard a lot of tweeting and chirping and we all thought perhaps the chicks had hatched. Not so. A snake was wound around the nest and about to eat the eggs. I grabbed a shovel, knocked him out of the bush and removed his head. The nest and the eggs remained undamaged as far as we could tell.

We had to leave the house for about 4 hrs and when we returned, lo and behold, the nest was empty!! Don't know whether another snake got them or what. My wife was almost in tears over that loss.

 

[oneflycowboy]

Hawks are just out hunting and are cool to watch. Wolves are evil and must be eliminated.

No, there is only one animal on earth that is evil, and it's not a Wolf....

 

[16thVACav]

Creatures in the wild seldom die of old age.

I'm just glad my time on this planet is now, and not millions of years ago when raptors' ancestors walked the earth.

 

[shouldazagged]

No, there is only one animal on earth that is evil, and it's not a Wolf....

I think it was Mark Twain who said that man is the only animal that can blush. Or needs to.

 

[MOONDAWG]

A Hawks gotta eat too...

 

[the ringo kid]

At least you guys got to see nature at its intended finest.The best I have is I got ---- on by a pigeon while I was wearing my most expensive shirt.

 

[Brian41]

I was in Vegas a year ago and went with my niece's fiancé out into the desert there and met up with his buddy that had Harris Falcons. His buddy loved the sport and was happy to answer my questions about the birds and his training and hunting them.
He had two and they did find and kill a jack rabbit which was a sight to see but not for the squeamish either. I had no clue they'd be so fast nor could devour their prey as fast as they did.

 

[reddogge]

Another hawk story. I was working at my desk one day (when I worked) and looked out the window and there was a hawk with a starling pinned down by one foot a couple of feet from the window. The starling tried to peck the hawk but it backed off and then went down and bit off a chunk of flesh out of the starling's breast. This went on for a while until the starling stopped fighting and died. They are an obnoxious invasive species so I didn't have much sympathy for the starling.

 

[arjay]

Theres a mountain lake where I kayak and fish a fair amount and the red tail hawks seem to enjoy the fishing too.The last one I saw was having a devil of a time climbing above ground effect.

 

[mstem]

The one of the most fantastic thing I have ever seen outdoors is watching Bald Eagles catching fish on the lake. They make it look easy.

I went out in the back yard last summer & sitting about 20 feet out in the yard from the woods was a full grown Bald Eagle! That thing was huge!!!!! We looked at each other for a couple of minutes & it took off. The wingspan on it had to be at least 8'! What a beautiful bird!

 

[M29since14]

At least you guys got to see nature at its intended finest.The best I have is I got ---- on by a pigeon while I was wearing my most expensive shirt.

Ringo Kid, if you have never had the honor of having a walnut fall from a good-sized tree and bean you squarely on top of the head, you may feel abused by the pigeons. Of the two, I would rather take my chances with the pigeons than the walnut trees!

 

[Mule Packer]

Yep...it's all part of nature. If you think you and your wife were shocked, just imagine what this little girl felt.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxFfxTZA6ao"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxFfxTZA6ao[/ame]

 

[rog8732]

M P, that seems like the perfect time to tell the little girl about what a perfect place, and what a great time little bunnie will have with it's loved ones "up in Heaven".

 

[yaktamer]

Saw a red-tailed hawk snag a pigeon in flight about five feet above our pool. Good riddance, pigeon!

 

[rwsmith]

A raptor in action......

A raptor in action is an impressive sight, but everything has to eat.

 

[M3Stuart]

As my supervisor and I were walking out of the plant one morning after a graveyard shift, we heard a POP, just the sound you would make if you smacked your hands together HARD. I looked up and saw a "puff" of feathers in the air, and a hawk with a pegion in it talons flying away.

...and another flying rat bites the dust...

 

[Rick_A]

I've seen red tailed hawks pass a field mouse back and forth in the air. The little guy was sure making a racket over it. The hawks appeared to be having fun with it.

Right outside my door I watched an osprey get a fish stolen by an eagle. It was a short struggle.

Crows, if you watch them will do some interesting things. Turkey vultures in the air are some of the most graceful creatures in flight.

If it's alive chances are either something else will eat it or it eats other critters...or both.

This guy thought it was part of the show:

 

[Martya]

...the poor robin met its demise...

your fault, six more weeks of winter.....