Birds of Prey: the hunters become the hunted

[kid icarus]

Makes me wonder if some of your injured raptors are going after "road kill" as a train comes through?

actually, that's not a bad assessment. here in chicago pigeons LOVE the el line stations (not sure about the metra-but i assume they populate those as well) however i have never seen a dead pigeon at any stops. maybe they are swooping in to get a kill when the train is coming.....it makes sense. because as the trains come in, the birds on the tracks scatter and would be less apt to notice a falcon streaming in from behind to get them?

[BoldHighlander]

i love the falcons in chicago. i saw one land right behind our apartment about 5 minutes before i was due to have a pipe lesson...almost missed the start cos it was so cool to be looking at a falcon less than 10 feet away. i also took a picture of one with my now dead cellphone in uptown when i was waiting for the bus. it was tearing apart the remains of a pigeon and paid no mind to me as i came up on it to take a picture...they are AWESOME! just thought i'd share. ;)

That's pretty cool
Thanks for sharing.

Another of my "cool moments" was back in the 80's, again on I-5 in my old '69 Buick, I had an Osprey come up over the freeway from a nearby river clutching a fish in his talons. He was only about 8 feet above me. I've never forgotten that sight!

The other (not so cool moment) was late one night riding home on my Harley I nearly got knocked off the bike by a big white owl swooping across the road to a field!!

[LANCER1562]

One of my favorite booths at the HIghland Games here in the S.F. Bay Area is the Birds of Prey. They truely are magnificent creatures. I took my then 11 and 12 year old son and daughter to the Dunsmuir Highland Games in Oakland, CA last year. They were fascinated by the birds many of whom were resue birds either intentionally injured by humans or by human encroachment on their natural habitats (high tension wires, electrical towers, etc.). When they were told that one of the birds had been rescued after having been shot through the shoulder with an arrow by a hunter and although the injury had fully healed the damage was so severe that she would never be able to fly again, they became so upset about how "someone could so stupid and cruel to something so beautiful" that they were on the verge of tears and it took a long while for then to calm down.

[BoldHighlander]

One of my favorite booths at the HIghland Games here in the S.F. Bay Area is the Birds of Prey. They truely are magnificent creatures. I took my then 11 and 12 year old son and daughter to the Dunsmuir Highland Games in Oakland, CA last year. They were fascinated by the birds many of whom were resue birds either intentionally injured by humans or by human encroachment on their natural habitats (high tension wires, electrical towers, etc.).

What a great experience for them

Do you have any photos? If not, I hope that next time you encounter this display that perhaps you can snap a few photos & either post them to this thread or elsewhere on the forum?

[LANCER1562]

This Cooper's Hawk survived being electricuted when it flew into a high voltage wire.



This is the bird I was refering to in my original post.