Speed Kills

Note: Violence and death in the bird world is contained in this post!

I mentioned yesterday that one way the pigeons are kept in check on our property is by the hunting falcons. We have several species of the fast moving birds in the area but one of the most common is the Prairie Falcon. These photos were taken last year but we see them chasing pigeons at least once every couple of weeks. It is just not often we get the chance to capture the experience in pictures!

 Yesterday Ken and I saw a falcon take out a nighthawk not ten feet in front of us and right at eye level. It happened so fast that all we could do was stand there with our mouths agape asking each other what had just happened! More than once I have hit the deck in reaction to the sound of something big and fast flying by my ear. That is often the first indication that the falcon is hunting in the area.

In this sequence of shots the prairie falcon swooped in and knocked a pigeon out of the air. The pigeon landed on the ground in front of the big tree in our front yard, still alive but badly dazed. The falcon wasted no time in flying down to finish off the injured bird - they do this by chopping off the prey's head with one quick snap. It looks like it has been cut off with scissors.

In this case the magpies thought they would try for their share of the spoils. The falcon defended his dinner for quite a while but eventually flew off and left the remains to the magpies.