Comments on: Thumbtacked to the Sky? Not!

By: Sophia

Sophia — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 07:27:43 +0000

On Tuesday afternoon I saw what I *think* was an immature red-tailed hawk feasting on a pigeon on a ledge on Allen Hall! I could see it right outside the window of the Learning Research and Development Center. I got some pictures, but my cell phone camera is really bad, and the pictures didn’t zoom close enough to see identifiable details.

By: NDPeter

NDPeter — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 14:37:52 +0000

Hadn’t read this post for a few days and now see the comment about a peregrine being there during the red-tail’s antics. The reason I came back though was just to share that among a boring morning of robins, jays, starlings and downy woodpeckers in Scheneley, I did get a treat when on my way by the Cathedral there was a peregrine perched up on the antenna.

By: Kate St. John

Kate St. John — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 10:38:08 +0000

The peregrines are still at Pitt. In fact, one was roosting with its face to the wall while the red-tail hunted on campus. If the peregrine had been awake, the red-tail would probably have left the area without performing this stunt.

By: Anne Curtis

Anne Curtis — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 06:13:07 +0000

Kate–Does this mean the peregrines have moved on? You wrote some time ago that they don’t “play well with each other”, or is that only when the P’s are nesting?

A raptor has returned to the dead tree across the hill from our house. I’ve walked the dog in the area, but I can’t find the tree! There are a lot of private roads and byways, so I get lost, sort of. I can’t see far enough from here to ID him/her , but it’s very obvious when the bird is up there, monitoring Beeler/Forbes/Murdoch Farms. The bird is solitary, and my husband said he saw what he thought was a red-tail, flying low over Unger Ln. As well he should be! We have chipmunks, a resident groundhog, and lately 4 wild turkeys in the back yard.

BTW, excellent letter in the PG about Marcellus Shale drilling.

Anne

By: Marianne

Marianne — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 21:47:49 +0000

It sounds like a close encounter of the bird kind.

That would be so cool to experience! You must be a bird magnet!

By: barbara

barbara — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 21:18:19 +0000

Oh, I would have loved to have been there to see that action! My jaw would have dropped. — barbara

By: Kathy

Kathy — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 15:44:35 +0000

What an incredible experience.

By: Kate St. John

Kate St. John — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 13:47:57 +0000

Very cool, Dan! I don't know many airplane models but what about the C-130 for the albatross & the 747 for a bald eagle? The possibilities are endless. (For those of you who haven't seen the A-10, it looks like this: http://www.strategic-air-command.com/aircraft/attack/a10_thunderbolt.htm)

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 11:59:06 +0000

Oh, a red-tail is not like a 747—that may be a condor or an albatross. While a red-tail may not stoop the way a peregrine does they are quite agile and excellent fliers. My understanding is that peregrines hunt off the wing attacking other birds, and that red-tails tend to hunt off the perch attacking rabbits and squirrels. So, if a peregrine is an F-16 Fighting Falcon then a red-tail is more like an A-10 Thunderbolt, good for ground attacks.