Battle in the Air

West Ender · 04-10-2007, 22:11

This afternoon I saw a hawk, hovvering above my house, attacked by a pair of crows. They kept circling the much bigger bird and every now and then one of the crows would hit the hawk, knocking it off balance. After a few minutes another 4 crows joined in and they were forcing the hawk away. Then another hawk appeared and they turned their attention on to it. The 4 crows that had joined in flew off and just 2 were left battling the 2 hawks. It took about 10 minutes but they managed to drive the hawks away.

It was quite a spectacle to watch. I've seen crows attacking magpies that were trying to rob their nest but never birds so much bigger than them and the whole thing reminded me of fighter planes attacking a couple of bombers. Has anyone else ever seen a "dogfight" like this?

SPUGGIE J · 04-10-2007, 22:44

Buzzards and Kestrels Pidgeons and Black Headed Gulls. Good to watch esp when the underdog wins.

WillowTheWhisp · 05-10-2007, 07:53

Even hawks have to eat.

grego · 05-10-2007, 08:46

I bet that was good to watch, we have a pair of Blackbirds that are in our garden, saw them chase off a cat once the noise was awful, the cat gave up eventually.

mez · 05-10-2007, 08:49

i bet that was fantastic to watch, (beats sitting in an office ..ha ha )

MargaretR · 20-11-2009, 14:05

Heavy rain has brought the worms near to the surface on Heys field.
The flock of landgulls that arrive to 'raindance' and eat them has arrived from Whinney Hill tip.
I have watched them for the past two days and notice that the flock is less than 50% of what has been the norm in the past.
I know they are considered by some to be flying rats, but it seems a shame that any bird has its numbers reduced.
Perhaps new procedures at the tip means that there is less access to food waste there.