Air Gun Home :: View topic

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

I apologize for the bad pic, but I'm trying to find out what kind of hawk/falcon this is. It landed in my yard today and I decided to shoot it with a camera rather than my talon. The thing was in some amount of distress as it was 110 degrees out and it looked very frightened and tired. It was actually leaning up against the base of the concrete fence here.

I took this picture from a the side opening in my window so it came out pretty bad. Wish I had more of a zoom on my camera. You can see from the edge of the shadow just how intense that sunlight is. This bird and I looked at each other for a while before it barely managed to fly off over the fence and away.

But I'd like to know what kind of Arizona bird of prey this is. This bird was a smaller adolescent because I've seen adults around here before and seen the bird carcasses they have left behind in my yard (not pretty, btw). I think it might be a prairie falcon but I'm not sure. Any ideas?

2RCHA · Veteran Member

Look's like a "Sparrow-Hawk" to me, I could be wrong though, Andy.

billandbeaufort · Senior Member

Kestral?

yourdaddyjoe · Supporting Member

I have a nest of these guys in my back yard. We love to hear them. Each year Mom & Dad come back and produce at least 3 babies. These guys kill more pest than I do. The most spetacular catch that I have seen them carry away is about a 5' rattler.

Soon as you know what kind of hawks they are... let me know.

Joe

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

Still trying to identify it. I saw an adult a couple months back and I knew something was up because I saw no other birds in the area but that one. The next day I found a beak and skull laying in the yard and then further away I found and partially eaten spine section of a bird right under my window. The thing had been feeding there right under my nose the night before!

I wouldn't shoot a fellow bird predator. Kind of like in the movie Alien vs. Predator when it marks the woman's face after it sees her kill one of the aliens. It didn't kill her out of respect for a fellow hunter.

Normally most birds would be dead as dog meat just for landing in my yard, especially if they are competition with me and killing the birds I hunt and eat. But I decided to let this falcon live, not out of compassion for its situation, but out of respect for its kind.