Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Really Neat Video


6 comments:

OrbsCorbs said...

That's beautiful. Watch it full screen. Hurray for the squirrel!

drewzepmeister said...

I've seen this video before... Great photography!

In a way I was hoping the Red Tailed Hawk would get the squirrel... But this is nature. In action! Win some, lose some. Not every predator gets its prey. That just makes things more interesting in this circle of life. Everything's gotta eat!

From on ornithologist's point of view, I was amazed at the diligence and brilliance in trying to catch the squirrrel.

OrbsCorbs said...

I'll bet the hawk wins more than he loses. The trees here work to the squirrel's advantage. In an open area, the squirrel would be dinner.

This video had to be shopped together from a number of shoots. How did the camera just happen to be inside the nest that the squirrel first tries to hide in?

Drew, do any predator birds prey on other predator birds?

drewzepmeister said...

Yes Orbs, it does happen. Not too often though. I've heard of Bald Eagles (primarily a fish eater) taking down Red Tailed Hawks and Great Horned Owls. Its not normally on the menu. Rule of the thumb, predators will generally go after the young, the old, the sick and the weak. Otherwise easy targets... Predators, of any kind, can not afford to risk injury to themselves taking down healthy prey.

HOWEVER, birds of prey normally harass each other for food and territorial rights. Tender Heart and I witnessed on a number of occasions Short Eared Owls and Northern Harriers harassing each other at Bong. Bald Eagles are known to harass Ospreys for fish.

SER said...

Orbs, Falcons, they use them for hunting, and some Owls.

drewzepmeister said...

There are moments I fancy myself as a falconer. To a certain extent..

Falconry is quite controversial. While the sport has its merits, the controversy starts when a rare falcon is shipped overseas stuffed in tube and sold to an Arabian sheik for $35,000.

In Wisconsin taking raptors from the wild for falconry is legal, with a quite a few stipulations. ONLY a master falconer may capture during season. No Northern Goshawks may be touched! http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/nr/001/18.pdf

I found out about this stuff when a Snowy Owl was captured near Freedom, WI last January.

The thing that boggles my mind,is way an owl? They are much more difficult to train than falcons, hawks or eagles. (Owls hunt more by hearing than sight)