Real nature at work..

[VK3ZL]

Hi all..I was drawn to a raucous battle going on in one of the big gardens this morning..There were half a dozen types of Birds, Magpies,Crows, little Wagtails and Wrens etc...They were all going totally bonkers...My first thought was probably a Wallaby or Koala trespassing as in that portion of our gardens we have many large trees and shrubs and the native animals often arrive here and spend a day or two before moving on....This always stirs up the dozens of birds we so enjoy and the racket can become as bad as a "Chinese Parliament"..

Anyhow, on investigation I discovered the culprit who was the object of all the racket.. On the ground among the trees was a Collared Sparrowhawk..He had apparently caught one of the local Wattle Birds off guard and had it pinned to the ground....The poor wattle bird was objecting to being invited to the Sparrowhawk's breakfast..I could only watch what was occurring natuarally myself believing that it is better to let nature take it's course..

With the bird chorus at full volume and the Magpies trying to attack the Hawk I went back to the house and called Jeannie to bring the camera..The result is a half a dozen good pictures which I will share with you all..

The Collared Sparrowhawk is common here along with Peregrine Falcons and a number of other Hawks...They like to perch on the top of one of my radio masts looking for mice and Native Bush Rats...The mast is a great observation perch for them and native wildlife is plentiful..The Sparrowhawk is naturally not human shy and they can be approached carefully without scaring them...They take prey up to more half their own size..

I just wanted to share this with you all as one doesn't get the opportunity to observe nature so close ..

Bob..VK3ZL

[KC2UGV]

Nice! You don't often get a chance to see, let alone photograph a hawk catching any bird (Birds tend to be too spry).

[N2CHX]

Apparently that hawk is too cheap to buy his breakfast.

[K7SGJ]

That's pretty awesome, Bob. Now get back to work on the 160 amp.

We also have Peregrines here, and Red Tail Hawks, too. The Red Tails usually hunt in groups of three, and their hunting techniques are amazing to watch. Especially when they take a rabbit, and fly it up to the top of the 40 foot power poles out here. Then after a rest, on to the next pole until they get it whereever they go. I can't believe how much lifting power they have since the rabbits out here are pretty large.

Thanks for posting the pictures.

[NQ6U]

It's always cool when a little bit of nature intrudes on your garden. Once, I was changing the water pump on my car when I heard a swoosh overhead. I looked up just in time to see an American Kestrel (a small falcon often called Sparrowhawk here) nail a scrub jay about ten feet above me.

Kestrel


Scrub Jay

[N2RJ]

This is one of the best I've seen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9i3h7JVT4g

Eagle is in the nest, presumably with chicks. Hawk sees nest and attempts a home invasion. Eagle successfully defends the nest.

[kb2vxa]

There's a lesson to be learned here. When a bad guy invades your home kill him and feed him to your children.

[KG4CGC]

There's a lesson to be learned here. When a bad guy invades your home kill him and feed him to your children.

Actually, in this case I believe that the ...

[N2RJ]

I'm just glad our national bird is not the turkey.

[N8YX]

Hawks gotta eat too.