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Re: General Bird of Prey Discussion
Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 1:18 pm
by alethe
hawks, in the united states, are not social animals and will not flock together. The raptor you are likely seeing is a kite--either a mississippi kite or a swallow tailed kite!
we don't have swallow tailed kites in my area, so i don't know too horribly much about them, but mississippi kites look like this and they make cute "pew pew" sounds.
They mainly eat bugs and small birds. they are migratory; they migrate to the USA all the way from Argentina! they are mostly here in the spring/summer time.
swallow tailed kites look like this.
edit: actually, i stand corrected. there IS a hawk that is a pack hunter in the USA! the harris hawk. it lives in the deserts of Arizona to Texas. they hunt in family bands of around 5-6 members.
they stack on each other too, because they don't like their bums being spiked by cactus and bird back is softer than cactus spines, haha.
some falconers have also tried to fly aplomado falcons in a cast (in falconry, groups of birds used to hunt are called a cast), but i'm not sure the success of those birds being used as they usually aren't social.
Re: General Bird of Prey Discussion
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 1:43 pm
by elkhunter123456
I once spotted an owl sitting on a bird feeder! I have also spotted vultures eating fox or deer roadkill.
Did you know that WILD golden eagles prey on adult reindeer!
Re: General Bird of Prey Discussion
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 3:44 pm
by valkea
elkhunter123456 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2019 1:43 pm
Did you know that WILD golden eagles prey on adult reindeer!
Golden eagles can take down wolves, too. It's usually falconry eagles, but wild ones are certainly capable of it (though less inclined to make an attempt)!
Re: General Bird of Prey Discussion
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 5:01 pm
by elkhunter123456
valkea wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2019 3:44 pm
elkhunter123456 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2019 1:43 pm
Did you know that WILD golden eagles prey on adult reindeer!
Golden eagles can take down wolves, too. It's usually falconry eagles, but wild ones are certainly capable of it (though less inclined to make an attempt)!
Nice fact! could you tell me about the relationship between eagles and coyotes in yellowstone? (Predation or competition)
Re: General Bird of Prey Discussion
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 7:01 pm
by valkea
elkhunter123456 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2019 5:01 pm
valkea wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2019 3:44 pm
elkhunter123456 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2019 1:43 pm
Did you know that WILD golden eagles prey on adult reindeer!
Golden eagles can take down wolves, too. It's usually falconry eagles, but wild ones are certainly capable of it (though less inclined to make an attempt)!
Nice fact! could you tell me about the relationship between eagles and coyotes in yellowstone? (Predation or competition)
yeah I don't really know anything about that, sorry.
Re: General Bird of Prey Discussion
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 10:38 am
by alethe
elkhunter123456 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2019 5:01 pm
valkea wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2019 3:44 pm
elkhunter123456 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2019 1:43 pm
Did you know that WILD golden eagles prey on adult reindeer!
Golden eagles can take down wolves, too. It's usually falconry eagles, but wild ones are certainly capable of it (though less inclined to make an attempt)!
Nice fact! could you tell me about the relationship between eagles and coyotes in yellowstone? (Predation or competition)
Competition, mostly. eagles and coyotes are scavengers for the most part. eagles do not hunt unless they absolutely have to, and would rather steal their food or scavenge. as far as i'm aware, coyotes are similar in behavior. usually a bird won't prey on another predator; keep in mind they all want to survive in the long run.
here is a video of an eagle stealing from a fox: https://vimeo.com/272024913
a bit graphic (dead bunny and the fox gets tossed around a little but is mostly uninjured)
Re: General Bird of Prey Discussion
Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2019 1:36 pm
by Kivia
I recently moved out west in the US, and was blown away by the number of raptors just on the side of the highway. Like Rough-legged and Ferruginous hawks. Oof, they are gorgeous. That and I saw some Golden Eagles cruising around. I have seen a few in Cape May and up in Appalachia Pennsylvania (I actually caught one at a banding station too), but something about it being out west made it more special.
I wanna watch that video really badly that you posted Alethe, but my wifi is terrible. I can see the title though, and of course it's a bald eagle hahaha. They are the biggest punks. If I had a dollar for the number of times I saw bald eagles harassing osprey for their fish...
Re: General Bird of Prey Discussion
Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2019 11:44 am
by Flamesky
Ospreys are my favorite birds of prey. I grew up in a town along the North Platte River, and I would see them every year during the summer. There are pairs that would return to the same nesting platform and raise offspring every year. I was able to observe some behaviors like bringing nesting material back and diving for fish. Now I live in an eastern state, but the city I live in is also along a river, so I've seen ospreys on occasion in late summer and early fall.
Other species I've seen in the wild are seen bald eagles, golden eagles, turkey vultures and some hawk species such as marsh hawks, kestrels and red-tailed hawks.
