Hawk/Eagle attacks

[feralpigeon]

Originally Posted by Lovebirds

............

I saw this hawk go after his birds one day while we were there. The birds were on the roof of the house and the hawk dove down at them. Well, the hawk did not get either bird, but left and went back to his tree. We watched those two birds fly and fly and fly and every once in a while they go and fly right by the tree where this hawk was sitting. It was almost like they were teasing him to come after them..............

I've watched my feral friends at the Overpass do this many times. There always seems to be a lead pigeon checking out the Hawk and flying by their
perching spot on the top of tall iron construct at the top of a 4-5 story building. Sooner or later it seems a couple others will join in as though it's a game. One evening I watched one such event when the hawk decided to give them a chase.

The hawk took after the three of them and the pigeons, at first, responded as a group. Then they started breaking off in different directions. One of them,
I think the one that had started the teasing seemed to keep an eye on the
hawk as though wanting to make sure that it continued chasing it. The other
two returned to their roosting spot under the bridge. The hawk and pij went
out of view for a good five minutes and I'd assumed that I'd lost that pij.
I doubt anyone thinks of ferals as "trapping-in", but without the help of the setting sun, only the street lights, that one pij came tear-*ssing in and swooped under the bridge, into their 'hide-out' and to 'safety'.

fp

[LokotaLoft]

all I can say is that pigeons are the most amazing birds ever ,who else could take on a war bird and live to tell the tail

[roxtar]

Originally Posted by Lovebirds

Hawks are very unpredictable. There are some birds that just have that "knack" for avoiding being captured.
I thought maybe Roxtar (one of the members here) would tell this story but since he hasn't I will.........
We were at his house two week ends helping put up a loft. He has a pair of hawks nesting in a BIG tree right by his house. We could hear the hawks squealing all the time and would see them flying over the house, taking twigs to the tree to build a nest. Well, Roxtar has these two young birds that he's trained and he lets them fly around alot during the day.
I saw this hawk go after his birds one day while we were there. The birds were on the roof of the house and the hawk dove down at them. Well, the hawk did not get either bird, but left and went back to his tree. We watched those two birds fly and fly and fly and every once in a while they go and fly right by the tree where this hawk was sitting. It was almost like they were teasing him to come after them. I would lay you odds, that unless it's a sneak attack, this hawk will never get either of those birds. They play games with the hawk and don't seem the least bit concerned about him. It was quite funny to watch.
Now if he can get all these new babies to do the same thing, he'll have it made..........

That's either a really inept hawk or two pigeons that are pressing their luck and are gonna get it good and hard one day.

In my very little experience with pigeons I think I've gotten kind of a baptism by fire of how hawks can mess with your birds and it is a pretty stressful thing to worry about. Like Renee' said, if you have pigeons flying around outside eventually you're going to get visited by a hawk, and if you fly your birds you're going to lose some sometime whether it be to a hawk/power line whatever. I don't see any way to control a hawk problem although I have noticed a drop in the number of appearances my neighbor has made after 3 unsuccessful attacks. I haven't seen him in about a week. Perhaps it's the abundance of easier meals.

[LokotaLoft]

I noticed that I see them more if I fly my birds in the mornings thats why I only fly in the evenings now cuz im guessing the hawks have fuller bellys by then so they arent as intent on taking my birds .. but I know they are still out there ,I see them in the distance drawing up their skematics on taking my birds in their future attempts

[Lovebirds]

Originally Posted by roxtar

That's either a really inept hawk or two pigeons that are pressing their luck and are gonna get it good and hard one day.

In my very little experience with pigeons I think I've gotten kind of a baptism by fire of how hawks can mess with your birds and it is a pretty stressful thing to worry about. Like Renee' said, if you have pigeons flying around outside eventually you're going to get visited by a hawk, and if you fly your birds you're going to lose some sometime whether it be to a hawk/power line whatever. I don't see any way to control a hawk problem although I have noticed a drop in the number of appearances my neighbor has made after 3 unsuccessful attacks. I haven't seen him in about a week. Perhaps it's the abundance of easier meals.

Maybe he's tired from chasing those two little speed demons you've got. He's resting up for the real show in a couple of weeks.