On 22 Jan 2004 19:18:43 -0800, jim rozen
wrote:

In article , Gerald Miller says...

When we returned, all we found were one bird foot and a few
feathers on the floor in front of the TV.

We had pigeons in our back yard for a while.

One evening we came home, and there was a large circle
of pigeon feathers in the grass. And nothing else.
We thought maybe it was a cat that did it, but
there was no real evidence of a struggle.

A few days later we realized what had happened,
my wife looked out in the front yard to see
a *large* red-tail hawk sitting in the tree.

I suspect the pigeon never knew what hit it.

Jim

A buddy of mine's hobby is racing pigeons. His coop is in his back
yard, beneath a large cottonwood tree. We counted 5 red tails sitting in
the tree one afternoon, during a lull in the rabbit population. All with
rather expectant looks and much peering at the coop. They are not dumb
birds....

We actually once watched a red tail in hot pursuit of one of his rollers
as the roller headed for the coop. The entry way to the coop is way too
small for the hawk..and he was so intent on his stoop (dive) that he
flew headlong into the side of the coop, breaking his neck. Made a hell
of a thump. Like watching an old WW2 picture of a dive bomber hitting
the water...feathers everywhere.

Fortunately we didn't have to explain to Animal Control why there was a
dead hawk in his trash can..as Dave Is the local Animal Control officer
G

Gunner, who once upon a time raised raptors.


"As my father told me long ago, the objective is not to convince someone
with your arguments but to provide the arguments with which he later
convinces himself."
David Friedman