Go Back   Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca > Other pet critters - Birds, fish, rabbits, reptiles, rodents and exotics > Birds

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old February 19th, 2011, 04:59 PM
chico2's Avatar
chico2 chico2 is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Oakville Ontario
Posts: 26,591
A predator in our midst...

My camera could not get better close-upsbut this guy has been picking off at least 10 of"my"Pigeons this winter.
He is quiet large,larger than a Crow and he is beautiful,I just wish he did not kill my Pigeons,he does not bother with the smaller birds.
I have no idea what he is,but he's huge..
Attached Images
  
__________________
"The cruelest animal is the Human animal"
3 kitties,Rocky(r.i.p my boy),Chico,Vinnie
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old February 19th, 2011, 05:23 PM
Tundra_Queen's Avatar
Tundra_Queen Tundra_Queen is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Northern Ontario
Posts: 5,603
chico I'm not sure what he is but he is pretty. Could it be a Peregrine Falcon?
__________________
~Friendship is like a bank account. You can't continue to draw on it without making deposits~


~Tegan 9 year old yellow lab~
~Wilbur 9 year old LH cat~
~Mirabelle 18 mos dsh~
~O'Shawnnessey 18 mos dsh~
~Darby 1 year old dsh~
~Mindy 7 yr old shih tzu~
~Dexter 10yr old Salmon (large goldfish)
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old February 19th, 2011, 05:26 PM
chico2's Avatar
chico2 chico2 is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Oakville Ontario
Posts: 26,591
Yes TQ,they are beautiful,but it saddens me,when I see another Pigeon getting caught,however that is the way of nature..and we all have to eat to survive.
__________________
"The cruelest animal is the Human animal"
3 kitties,Rocky(r.i.p my boy),Chico,Vinnie
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old February 19th, 2011, 05:46 PM
shirley1011 shirley1011 is offline
banned user
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: North of Oshawa Ontario
Posts: 3,955
Looks like might be a Coopers Hawk or a Peregrine Falcon as TQ said....they are just awful preditors but I guess that is nature.
Did you know we have Golden (larger Bald Headed Eagles) here in southern Ontario...saw one at the 407 & Hwy 10 the other day...couldn't believe it...even my brother who travels all over the world bird watching told me I was nuts...then I sent him the link to the Eagles in Ontario...I guess he will be out Eagle watching in Ontario now!
There is apparently a pair just outside Ottawa seen last week as well.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old February 19th, 2011, 07:28 PM
BMDLuver's Avatar
BMDLuver BMDLuver is offline
Teddy's Canine Railroad
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Oxford Mills, Ontario
Posts: 3,996
They love pidgeons and this winter it seems that they are having a hard time finding rabbits so we see more of them with pidgeons here as well. I guess you hunt the largest food source... look at the bright side...... could be small dogs or cats instead.
__________________
"For every animal that dies in a shelter, there is someone somewhere responsible for its death".
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old February 19th, 2011, 07:38 PM
Goldfields's Avatar
Goldfields Goldfields is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Australia
Posts: 3,282
What I do when I'm bird watching, Chico 2, is estimate its size compared to another bird, like you have with the crow, then look at my bird books. For instance, a Peregrine Falcon is about the same size or smaller than an Australian Raven(aka crow), but then how big is your crow? You can often cancel out a bird as a possibility that way. You are very lucky if it is a Peregrine, I'm told they nest over in the forest opposite us but I've never been lucky enough to see one.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old February 19th, 2011, 07:45 PM
Goldfields's Avatar
Goldfields Goldfields is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Australia
Posts: 3,282
Quote:
Originally Posted by BMDLuver View Post
They love pidgeons and this winter it seems that they are having a hard time finding rabbits so we see more of them with pidgeons here as well. I guess you hunt the largest food source... look at the bright side...... could be small dogs or cats instead.
Didn't see this post. We'd be on eagle watch here sometimes when we had sheltie pups outside for some exercise. The sables are just the same colour as wild rabbits and it was nerve wracking when a big wedge-tailed eagle would be gliding in circles above the place. A friend in Queensland watched one take a big rooster that was just ahead of her on a path, and saw another swooping after a wild Peacock, so a little pup like this would be just a snack. Gives me the shivers thinking about it.
Attached Images
 
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old February 19th, 2011, 11:06 PM
happycats's Avatar
happycats happycats is offline
Senior Contributor
Hexxagon Champion
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Ontario
Posts: 4,665
Beautiful!! I know it's sad when they kill the birds at the feeder though
I think it's a shiney shinned hawk (sp) we had one of those a few years back, ate a few of my mourning doves.
__________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What is man without beasts? If all the beasts were gone, men would die from great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected.

~~Chief Seattle (Duwamish tribe)~~
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old February 20th, 2011, 08:51 AM
chico2's Avatar
chico2 chico2 is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Oakville Ontario
Posts: 26,591
Thank's girls,he looks smaller in the pic and his tail-feathers are hidden by the pool-skimmer,I would say a bit bigger than my Crows.
Probably not a Pergrine,more than likely a Coopers Hawk,very common around here.
Looking in my bird-books,so many look the same,spotted chests,striped tail-feathers,a few white spots on the wings.

He will usually wait at a distance,until the Pigeons are on the ground eating,then he'll catch them at their most vulnerable as they try to fly away.
Once they are flying,they are very fast and can get away.
I absolutely hate itbut can only hope he kills them quickly..

Shirley,my son said he saw Golden Eagles up north in cottage-country,I did not believe him at first,but I've heard they are here.
I've only seen one and it was in South Carolina,beautiful birds..

Goldfields,I have plenty of Squirrels,but the Hawks don't even make an attempt to get them,they usually freeze when a Hawk is around.
__________________
"The cruelest animal is the Human animal"
3 kitties,Rocky(r.i.p my boy),Chico,Vinnie
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old February 20th, 2011, 09:55 AM
Goldfields's Avatar
Goldfields Goldfields is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Australia
Posts: 3,282
Quote:
Originally Posted by chico2 View Post


Goldfields,I have plenty of Squirrels,but the Hawks don't even make an attempt to get them,they usually freeze when a Hawk is around.
We don't get the Coopers Hawk of course but at first glance he looks like a Peregrine, even to me I mean, because we do have them. Size is an important distinguishing feature for sure.

Isn't that strange that the Hawks don't go for squirrels. To show how our Eagles might go for anything, my husband and a workmate were in a ute and Ian said there was an explosion of feathers beside it and an eagle had taken a magpie right next to them virtually. Very bold, or perhaps very hungry?
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old February 20th, 2011, 10:54 AM
chico2's Avatar
chico2 chico2 is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Oakville Ontario
Posts: 26,591
GF,as far as I remember,Peregrines have blueish/grey backs and wings and are a bit smaller.
I have never seen Magpies here,I know in Sweden we call them Crows,I don't remember ever seeing black crows in Sweden.

Usually if the Crows are around,they'll try to scare the Hawks away,make a holy racketprobably defending their territory.
I love to study the behavior of different critters in my yard...
__________________
"The cruelest animal is the Human animal"
3 kitties,Rocky(r.i.p my boy),Chico,Vinnie
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old February 20th, 2011, 09:52 PM
hazelrunpack's Avatar
hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
The Pack's Head Servant
Chopper Challenge Champion, Mini KickUps Champion, Bugz Champion, Snakeman Steve Champion, Shape Game Champion, Mumu Champion, Mouse Race Champion
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Just east of the Hazelnut Patch, Wisconsin
Posts: 53,771
I think you're right, chico--looks like a Cooper's to me, too. Beautiful bird. Pity about the pigeons, though I know how much you enjoy having them around.
__________________
"We are--each of us--dying; it's how we live in the meantime that makes the difference."

"It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived!"

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old February 21st, 2011, 08:52 AM
chico2's Avatar
chico2 chico2 is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Oakville Ontario
Posts: 26,591
Yes Hazel,I cry every time I see another Pigeon struggling in the talons of a Hawk,I call the Pigeons my"chickens",they look like chickens when they are all on the ground eating their corn(yeah,I know,weird)
__________________
"The cruelest animal is the Human animal"
3 kitties,Rocky(r.i.p my boy),Chico,Vinnie
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old February 21st, 2011, 08:55 AM
14+kitties's Avatar
14+kitties 14+kitties is offline
150% PRO S/N
Starcastle Champion, V:force Champion, UFO Shoot Out Champion, Parachute Panic Champion, Mission To Mars Champion, Disc Dash Champion, Crazy Closet Champion, Railway Line Champion, Penguin Pass Champion
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: MYOB
Posts: 15,408
That one looks like the bigger of the two I've had hanging around my feeder. I see the feathers in the morning too. There's tons of mice around. Wish they'd go after them instead.
__________________
Assumptions do nothing but make an ass out of u and me.

We can stick our heads in the sand for only so long before it starts choking us. Face it folks. The pet population is bad ALL OVER THE WORLD!
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Forum Terms of Use

  • All Bulletin Board Posts are for personal/non-commercial use only.
  • Self-promotion and/or promotion in general is prohibited.
  • Debate is healthy but profane and deliberately rude posts will be deleted.
  • Posters not following the rules will be banned at the Admins' discretion.
  • Read the Full Forum Rules

Forum Details

  • Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
    Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
    vBulletin Optimisation by vB Optimise (Reduced on this page: MySQL 0%).
  • All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:47 PM.