hawk just ate a bird alive in my backyard

[mazzgolf]

I am watching a hawk right now eat a bird alive in my backyard. Been watching for the past ten minutes. The bird was still alive when the hawk was still eating its entrails. Wish I had a good camera to video this.

 

[update - got out an old video camera I had - got this]

 

Edited March 27, 2017 by mazzgolf

[BenedictGomez]

What kind of bird was the victim?

[Njkoren]

Ive been keeping pigeons for about a year and have lost a few to them. Then on several other ocasions had them swoop down on them or land on the coop too when im feeding them.

 

Ive never really cared one way or the other but now i dont like hawks. But they gotta eat too.

[mazzgolf]

What kind of bird was the victim?

 

Unfortunately, not one of the cardinals or blue jays that bug the !@#$ out of me

 

Couldn't tell exactly - had dark feathers with a yellow beak. Right now, it doesn't have a head.   I watched the hawk suffocate it, and take out the entrails. Then it took off the top of the birds head and eat the brains and work its way down. Gross and fascinating at the same time.

 

He's still there but he's finishing up. He's about 20 yards away. Looks like a small hawk - white-or-light-grey breast feathers, brown head and wing feathers.

[Rusty]

I had a sharp-shinned drop on a titmouse not 20 feet from me over the weekend, it was pretty cool to watch. 

[mazzgolf]

I had a sharp-shinned drop on a titmouse not 20 feet from me over the weekend, it was pretty cool to watch. 

 

Ah- HA! I just looked up "sharp-shinned hawk" - that's the one! That's what I'm looking at right now. Light breast feathers, brown head and wings.

 

http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/sharp-shinned-hawk

 

Though it looks like he has 4 white dots on each of its wings, in the pattern of a square.... hmmm.

Edited March 27, 2017 by mazzgolf

[Lunatic]

Unfortunately, not one of the cardinals or blue jays that bug the !@#$ out of me

 

Couldn't tell exactly - had dark feathers with a yellow beak. Right now, it doesn't have a head.   I watched the hawk suffocate it, and take out the entrails. Then it took off the top of the birds head and eat the brains and work its way down. Gross and fascinating at the same time.

 

He's still there but he's finishing up. He's about 20 yards away. Looks like a small hawk - white-or-light-grey breast feathers, brown head and wing feathers.

Sounds like a Starling, which is a good news:-)

 

[not on the rug]

What...no video or pics?

[Rusty]

If it ate a larger bird like a starling it could have been a cooper's.  

[mazzgolf]

Wish I had a good video camera or even a good still camera  I got nothing.

 

Hawk is still there - looks like he's done though. Just sitting there staring around. Has a grey-with-black-tip beak - if that helps visualize it

 

I know, I know...

 

 

[update: I got a good video with an old video camera I got - just have to figure out how to put it up on youtube:)]

Edited March 27, 2017 by mazzgolf

[fathernature]

Did it look like this?

 

[mazzgolf]

Here you go! I'm no videographer The shakiness is reduced half way through when I zoomed out a little:

 

[mazzgolf]

I can't believe he's still out there working on eating this bird. It's been almost two hours.

[fathernature]

Must be old. The bird above took ~15 minutes to finish a dove..

[mazzgolf]

Must be old. The bird above took ~15 minutes to finish a dove..

 

He eats for a time, then stops and looks around for 10 minutes or so. Just stands there. Then eats some more. Then stops. He must feel safe sitting in that corner of the fences. He started in the middle of my yard - after he suffocated the bird, he flew about 20 feet into this corner with the bird in its talons, and has been working on it there ever since.