A Buzzard just caught my best bird

[Pigeonworldwide]

Hi,

I saw my best bird, a Tula Ribbontail turmani (only one of that breed in whole of Holland), just getting caught by a buzzard right then. The buzzard landed on the road, and I ran towards it as soon as possible. When I was close to where the buzzard was, I noticed some man driving over the bird of prey. He didn't kill it, but it made the bird of pray release my pigeon, and my bird flew off. My Buzzard stayed under the car for about half a minute staring at my and the driver, befor flying off. I'm so lucky that my bird survived - and so is the bird. When my bird went back into the loft, I checked it out for any wound, but couldn't see any. It was just very shocked. Is there anything should do, or do I let the bird rest by itself?

[Trees Gray]

Hi Sam,

I am so glad your bird is fine!

Are you sure you are talking about a "buzzard" as they eat only dead, rotting stuff! Is it maybe a bird of prey, like a hawk?

My tumbler just got over a hawk attack, but he had one deep wound that had to be restitched three times! He is finally back with the flock. He was also just staring out at nothing for several hours in shock right after it hapenned.

I would keep him under watch in an isolation cage, just to be sure, and give him a chance to rest. But if there is no puncture wound or any damage other then the "emotional trauma" he should be fine. Just observe him and make sure he is eating, drinking, and pooping normal, going about his normal business. Then you can put him back with the flock.

Treesa

[Pigeonworldwide]

It might of been a Kestrel or a Sparrowhawk from what I see in one of my bird books. I saw the bird from a distance of 2 meters for 30 seconds - do they mostly let people sit this close to them?

I think they are beautiful birds, so I didn't want to harm or scare it. It's a shame though that they live of meat!

[cyro51]

In the UK the Buzzard is a bird of prey:
http://www.birdsofbritain.co.uk/bird-guide/buzzard.htm

Cynthia

[dano7]

Kestrel and Sparrowhawk are the same. They are the smallest falcon and though they are athletic enough to catch a pigeon, they would be smaller than most pigeons (blue jay size) so I haven't seen a kestrel attack ever. In the US, perhaps the most common enemies of our birds are Cooper's and Sharp Shinned Hawks. Thankfully, Perigrine falcons are not so common around most of our birds.

[Nooti]

Yes,
But Buzzards are too big and clumsy and are not agile enough to catch a pigeon. This includes Harris and Red Tailed.
Certainly not a kestrel, they hunt by hovering, then swooping on small rodents. Could be sparrowhawk, but these birds are very small - more likely to be a Cooper's hawk or a female peregrine falcon.

[Nooti]

I must disagree here, - in a nice way. Kestrels and sparrowhawks are not the same. One is a falcon and the other a long winged hawk. Kestrels are smaller than sparrowhawks and hunt small rodents. Sparrowhawks are fast flyers with sharp manaouverability and can chase small birds through woodland. The female can and does catch pigeons.

[Pigeonworldwide]

I would say that it would be about 15 - 17 cm high

[Birdmom4ever]

A word of caution: if possible, have your pigeon checked by a vet. We recovered a roller hen after a hawk attack, but didn't know for certain that she'd been attacked; we only knew she had been chased. Anyway, some people found her and returned her to us via her phone number band. I checked her over carefully and found nothing wrong, but she wasn't quite herself. I decided if she still looked under the weather after food, water and a good night's sleep, I would take her to the vet.

She still wasn't herself the next day, so I took her in. The vet found three wounds on her back! I had checked carefully, but her down was so thick I didn't find the wounds. The vet found them by spraying her feathers with water to wet them, then she was able to part them and see the wounds, which fortunately weren't deep. She prescribed both oral and topical antibiotics and Jasmine made a full recovery. If there are any wounds, you'll want to get your pigeon on antibiotics, because they could become infected.



[This message has been edited by Birdmom4ever (edited February 20, 2004).]

[Pigeonworldwide]

I have a pigeon-only vetenarian about 5km away from my house, so I can go over there tomorrow.

[Nooti]

I would say that it would be about 15 - 17 cm high
***********************************
Are you sure about that - it is very small........... That's only around 6 inches! A kestrel is 30cm. The Pygmy Falcon is the smallest raptor. It is only 20 centimetres or 8 inches high. However, it is a hunter and eats reptiles or large insects. The Pygmy Falcon comes from Africa, so it has lots of choice of insects.


I just found this on the net -
- COMMON NAME: Cooper's Hawk
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Accipiter cooperii
IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS:
Medium-sized hawk from 14 to 20 inches in length.
However, it is interesting because our European Sparrowhawk is Acipiter Nisus and our Goshawk is Acipiter Gentilis so obviously of the same family.
I still suspect it's a cooper's or sharp shinned as they are well known for and well capable of taking a pigeon.

[Pigeonworldwide]

It fitted underneath a normal car without hitting its head - mabe a bird of 8 inches small - it wasn't that big.

[cyro51]

Interesting tip about dampening the feathers!

I found a sick pigeon in the market place and it was 3 days before I found that she also had a very deep and violent puncture wound in her leg.

Cynthia

[dano7]

Originally posted by Nooti:
I must disagree here, - in a nice way. Kestrels and sparrowhawks are not the same. One is a falcon and the other a long winged hawk. Kestrels are smaller than sparrowhawks and hunt small rodents. Sparrowhawks are fast flyers with sharp manaouverability and can chase small birds through woodland. The female can and does catch pigeons.

A falcon is a long winged hawk, and according to the National Audubon Society "Field Guide to Birds" Western Region (pp. 443)the common name for the American Kestral is "Sparrow Hawk". I know a falconer with one and he hunts sparrows with it. I think a healthy pigeon with the fear of christ would tear away from that hawk--they're just a blue jay. The pigeon could be fatally wounded but the point is the Kestral doesn't bother in most situations. Nooti, your description fits the Sharp Shinned Hawk the smaller look-alike to the Cooper's Hawk. These are among the most common birds in hawk migration census in America. They are built for mobility and sneakiness. A savvy pigeon will rarely die from one since pigeons can out fly them, but an uneducated pigeon will certainly be exploited very quickly. Those hawks are really sneaky--I've seen them fly stealthy routes and make a blind pounce in anticipation of a pigeon bathing. The pet birds don't usually know the score. By the way I have enjoyed the quality of your posts in this forum.

[Pigeonworldwide]

Its a kestrel - today, one of my other birds jumped out of the cage, and was in the garden. The same Kestrel attacked this bird. It was plucking it in the garden. I saw it happen, and I ran for the door but it was locked, so I started to bang on the window. The pigeon flew of, but the kestrel went after it. I haven't seen my pigeon back yet, or the kestrel. I looked all over the place without any luck.

Sam