Worthless little puppies and hawks...strange experience

Dueller · 01-02-2008, 04:42 PM

My step dtr got a Yorkie puppy from her bf this Christmas...pretty much the size of a hamster at 6 weeks. In the course of trying to housebreak it, I caught it about to go to the bathroom in the house so I quickly scooped it up and put it in the yard. Went back in to make sure it hadn't wet in the house...was only inside 15-20 seconds. Walked back out just in time as a hawk was bearing down on the little worthless thing. I snatched it up and the hawk turned within 20 feet of me. Then looked up and saw another 5 hawks circling 25 feet above. Close call.

Never seen anything like it before. Man, would I be a dirt bag had the hawk gotten to it.

Moneyguy1 · 01-02-2008, 04:48 PM

Interesting. The hawks were doing what hawks do best....getting rid of annoying little mammals.

(Just kidding, although I am not enamored of little hyper dogs. I like 'em mid sized and mellow)

Superman · 01-02-2008, 04:52 PM

Here in the Pacific Northwest we have a robust population of Bald Eagles. When those things get hungry and take flight, they're not really hunting or fishing. They're shopping.

Shaun @ Tru6 · 01-02-2008, 04:55 PM

Why do I feel sorry for the hawk?

Dueller · 01-02-2008, 05:03 PM

dtw · 01-02-2008, 05:08 PM

How dare you steal that hawk's dinner? Meddling bastard...

Seriously, what the hell would on-ramp say about this situation? I think it would make his head explode. Hmm, most things did that to him, come to think of it.

bell · bell's Garage

we have a couple hawks that live in the heavily wooded area behind our shop, one day i was pulling a car around back and a pigeon fell from the sky, i thought it was strange as it fell strait down. got out to check it and it was half eaten

the big hawks wingspan is about 5ft or so, and after i moved the car he quickly reclaimed his catch, was pretty cool. they also like to eat things sitting on top of a single telephone pole.....so that's always a good show

Buckterrier · 01-02-2008, 05:17 PM

Wow Jim, that's pretty wild. Up in my neck of the woods a woman was at the beach and a pelican, (no kidding), swooped up a little puppy she had with her. And great vid, DANG!!

pwd72s · 01-02-2008, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superman

Here in the Pacific Northwest we have a robust population of Bald Eagles. When those things get hungry and take flight, they're not really hunting or fishing. They're shopping.

Truth...not far from my home are ryegrass fields. Sheep are placed in these fields to graze during lambing season. We often see eagles perched in trees near these fields. Yes, an Eagle can carry off a newborn lamb...not only humans like to eat rack of lamb on Easter...

bell · bell's Garage

oh here's a funny story depending how you look at things........

one late afternoon 2 years ago we were hanging out back of the shop playing with some fireworks, i aimed my bottle rocket launcher at a telephone wire to scare some crows who were nearby (wasn't shooting AT them), the shot flew funny and headed towards the ground.
after one skip it blew up in a row of bushes, this scared the young bird which was hiding in them and it flew to the grass, then one of the large crows swooped down and took it......we were standing there in awe as it was an unexpected turn of events, not laughing....just kinda WTF!?!

the crow won......

Ronbo · 01-02-2008, 06:52 PM

This reminds me of the day back in college when I was sitting outdoors on a bench eating a cookie. A small bird (sparrow IIRC) landed on the bench next to me, and I broke off a small piece of cookie and put it near the bird. The bird ate the cookie, so I gave it another piece. While it was eating the second piece a much larger bird swooped down out of nowhere, grabbed the small bird with it's claws, and flew off. Didn't take more than a second, and happened less than 2 feet from me on the bench. I have to admit I felt bad the rest of the day.

p911dad · p911dad's Garage

Falcon story from this summer in Pittsburgh. One son is attending Pitt, and in the course of a visit we went up the Cathedral of Learning, a 42 story mid 1920's tower on the campus right across from the Heinz Chapel. The exterior is currently being cleaned from top to bottom. We went to the very top and took a look around and on the way down a construction worker with a disgusted look got into the elevator. I started a conversation and learned he had drawn a crappy job that day, shoveling pigeon carcasses and bones from the upper step-outs of the tower into a wheelbarrow, a particularly crappy job! At the top of the tower lives some falcons that feed on the pigeon population of the campus below, and carry them up in flight to their perches for dinner. The falcons scream down and knock the pigeons off in mid flight, they never see them coming. Turns out that as a result of all this food-chain activity there is a half-century+ of old pigeon parts up there, and this guy was doing his part to clean it up! Good honest union work.

john70t · 01-02-2008, 07:45 PM

Hawks are magestic and impressive, but not always at the top of the chain.
I've seen a flock of sparrows swarming and diving on a hawk, and another time a raven, who could do nothing but zigzag and try to fly away.

pwd72s · 01-02-2008, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by john70t

Hawks are majestic and impressive, but not always at the top of the chain.
I've seen a flock of sparrows swarming and diving on a hawk, and another time a raven, who could do nothing but zigzag and try to fly away.

Probably Swallows, not sparrows. Majesty of the air? Swallows are capable of things that fighter pilots can only dream of when it comes to flight moves...

stomachmonkey · 01-02-2008, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmeteer

Falcon story from this summer in Pittsburgh. One son is attending Pitt, and in the course of a visit we went up the Cathedral of Learning, a 42 story mid 1920's tower on the campus right across from the Heinz Chapel. The exterior is currently being cleaned from top to bottom. We went to the very top and took a look around and on the way down a construction worker with a disgusted look got into the elevator. I started a conversation and learned he had drawn a crappy job that day, shoveling pigeon carcasses and bones from the upper step-outs of the tower into a wheelbarrow, a particularly crappy job! At the top of the tower lives some falcons that feed on the pigeon population of the campus below, and carry them up in flight to their perches for dinner. The falcons scream down and knock the pigeons off in mid flight, they never see them coming. Turns out that as a result of all this food-chain activity there is a half-century+ of old pigeon parts up there, and this guy was doing his part to clean it up! Good honest union work.

They had that in Manhattan.

Pale Male was one of the hawks names.

The residents of the luxury building that he and his mate called home got tired of dead pidgeon parts and stuff dropping on them as they came and went and had the nest removed.

That raised a **** storm and they put the nest back.

Also in NYC
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/07/1060145757826.html

My mother in FL does not let her cats out because of hawks, her neighbor lost 3 cats to them.

Buckterrier · 01-03-2008, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Probably Swallows, not sparrows. Majesty of the air? Swallows are capable of things that fighter pilots can only dream of when it comes to flight moves...

So true, I have barn swallows in my neck of the woods and they are AWESOME birds to watch. When I'm cutting the grass, kicking up insects, they swoop, dive, flutter, you name it, very close to me . A real joy to observe.

Dan in Pasadena · Dan in Pasadena's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by dtw

....Seriously, what the hell would on-ramp say about this situation? I think it would make his head explode. Hmm, most things did that to him, come to think of it.

Did I miss something? Where IS On-Ramp? Was he banned or something? If so I missed it, what was the beef?

legion · 01-03-2008, 05:38 AM

He quit. He had Wayne delete his account.

john70t · 05:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Probably Swallows, not sparrows. Majesty of the air? Swallows are capable of things that fighter pilots can only dream of when it comes to flight moves...

These were sparrows, those rabid rats of the air who come in swarms to drive other birds away and can empty a feeder in two days.

I used to live on a lake and maintained our purple martin house(related to swallows) which held 4-12 at any time during the summer. The sparrows would come in flocks of 5-20 and drive the purple martins out.
Nothing seemed to work-clapping, bb's, cleaning out their nests daily, etc...
One time I walked out and there were about 5 purple martin eggs on the dock and in the water. Considering the purple martins had one nesting per year, the sparrows were wiping them out.

Seahawk · 01-03-2008, 06:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buckterrier

So true, I have barn swallows in my neck of the woods and they are AWESOME birds to watch. When I'm cutting the grass, kicking up insects, they swoop, dive, flutter, you name it, very close to me . A real joy to observe.

No better fliers on the deck IMHO ...they are the low-level masters!

We also have a lot of Ospreys here...they are incredible hunters and fliers. I had the pleasure of watching a "dog-fight" between an Osprey and a Bald Eagle. The Osprey caught a nice fish and the Eagle came after it. They sparred for at least 5 minutes before the Osprey rolled inverted and let go of the fish, which the Eagle caught in-flight and flew off with. Amazing show.