10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Peregrine Falcon ( Falco peregrinus ) at Delevan NWR (click on photos for full sized images). I’m sure most of you know that the Peregrine Falcon became an endangered species because of the use of organochlorine pesticides, especially DDT, during the 1950′s, 60′s, and 70′s. Don’t miss it!

Falcons 139

Falcons Wildlife Sacramento Endangered Species 139

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2013

On 11 November 2012 I was leaving Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake after a fruitless morning of trying to photograph birds in a snowstorm and poor light when a female Prairie Falcon ambushed this Northern Shoveler on the water not far from the causeway on which I was driving. Here she is making one of her very low passes over the duck.

Falcons 119

Falcons Ducks Utah Ethics 119

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2022

A large, bulky falcon cruising overhead could only be a Peregrine Falcon. As soon as we noticed it, a Merlin appeared from nowhere and headed directly for the Peregrine, divebombing the larger falcon. As per usual falcon procedure, it all happened much too quickly for me to get a decent photograph!

Falcons 252

Falcons Trinidad Ducks Groups 252

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2024

Some of us are captivated by the fierce stares of hawks and the raptorial majesty of a diving falcon. It was like so many other places where the young birds were stolen from nests, habitat was destroyed, and adult macaws occasionally hunted. A fair subset of birders are even crazy about gulls (!).

Costa Rica 246

Costa Rica Birds New York Parrots 246

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2019

While the hunting of game with trained birds of prey can be a controversial topic among birders , falconry was a valuable early source of information on birds, and its history, culture, and imagery continue to fascinate bird lovers, as we shall see. In English, the plays of William Shakespeare abound with the language of the falconer.

2016 134

2016 Portugal Falcons Japan 134

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2015

I am inside the city of Belgrade, checking the theoretically possible Peregrine Falcon site. Yet, not a trace of a falcon. APRIL 12: Second flight of a b h and then she hunts. ” Falcons do hunt pigeons, we all know that, but what is a Kamikaze pigeon? One Feral Pigeon. A Great Tit. And a war to extinction??

Switzerland 203

Switzerland Serbia Feral Falcons 203

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2020

It didn’t occur to me till I started reading The Falcon Thief: A True Tale of Adventure, Treachery, and the Hunt for the Perfect Bird that there was also a possible threat to the eagle herself: poachers, who steal raptor eggs and chicks. McWilliam realizes he’s dealing someone special, a career falcon egg-thief.

Falcons 226

Falcons United Kingdom Zimbabwe Eggs 226

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2022

Also, there was a Black Kite awaiting us, as well as one Red-footed Falcon sitting on a dead oak branch. King Alexander I of Yugoslavia was known for his hunting forays into this forest, only months prior to his assassination during a 1934 state visit to France. Photo by Surcin Municipality.

Croatia 242

Croatia Serbia Shelters France 242

10,000 Birds

JUNE 14, 2011

Dirt hawking is a form of falconry that involves hunting rabbits and other small game with Harris Hawks (other hawk species also qualify). One of the primary reasons that these hawks make such excellent falconry birds is because they are one of only two raptor species (the other is the Galapagos Hawk ) that hunt cooperatively.

League Against Cruel Sports 270

League Against Cruel Sports Rabbits Falcons Hunting 270

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2024

If you see a flock of kestrels in southern Europe, then the chances are that they will be Lessers, for the Common Kestrel never flocks, though occasionally in summer you will see a family hunting together. Watching flocks of these attractive little falcons feeding is aways a delightful sight.

Falcons 213

Falcons Spain Europe 2012 213

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 21, 2020

But some days, I also hear the loud calls of a Laughing Falcon. Ranging across a large swath of the northern evergreen zone, they spend their summers hunting small birds from Canada to Scandinavia and on east to the shores of the Bering Sea. Other days, there is a Ringed Kingfisher making grackle sounds as it courses over a stream.

Costa Rica 200

Costa Rica Falcons Farming Baltimore 200

10,000 Birds

MARCH 22, 2019

While the hunting of game with trained birds of prey can be a controversial topic among birders , falconry was a valuable early source of information on birds, and its history, culture, and imagery continue to fascinate bird lovers, as we shall see. During the hunt, Mary’s horse lost its footing, throwing her from the saddle into a ditch.

Hunting 113

Hunting France Falcons Horses 113

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2013

If this Red-tailed Hawk was wearing a T-shirt, it might say, “I’d rather be hunting nuisance birds.” ” Garrulous gulls and stealing starlings, beware: the falcons are coming. (No, No, not those Falcons from Atlanta. The benefits to the falconers, according to the article, include generous fees.)

Ethical Treatment 168

Ethical Treatment Atlanta Falcons Chicago 168

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2020

As I neared the shore, I spooked a hunting Striated Heron who in turn spooked a Neotropic Cormorant hunting the shallow water. I had never seen a Peregrine Falcon soaring with Black Vultures before – interestingly enough I would later see the very same occurrence two days later on another part of the island. Black Vulture.

Trinidad 220

Trinidad Birds Parrots Falcons 220

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2019

The Gyrfalcon ( Falco rusticolus ), the largest falcon in the world, is as sought after by falconers as it is by birders – and for many of the same reasons: namely, the rarity with which these imposing raptors of the Arctic visit us residing in more temperate climes.

2016 100

2016 Iceland Falcons Europe 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2014

Keep your eyes to the skies for hunting falcons ! Is it that time already, when a young birder’s fancy turns to, um, non-birds ? Indeed, those long hot stretches between migratory periods can try a bird watcher’s soul as surely as a cold, dark, birdless winter.

2014 186

2014 New York Falcons Birds 186

10,000 Birds

APRIL 14, 2023

When it is seen that A falcon, tow’ring in her pride of place / Was by a mousing owl hawk’d at and kill’d, that is taken as a sign that the natural order has been disturbed (there, by Macbeth’s act of regicide).

Barn Owls 113

Barn Owls Owls Serbia Finland 113

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

Once the private hunting preserve of the Maharaja of Bharatpur, this fabulous wetland gave us a list of over ninety species in a very relaxed day on a recent trip! Here we look for sandgrouse, bush-quails, francolins, wheatears, shrikes, Laggar Falcons , eagles, buzzards, and the endangered Stolikza’s Bush Chat.

India 202

India Wildlife Tigers Eagles 202

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2012

Red-tailed Hawks often hunt through dusk in San Francisco. Peregrine Falcons frequent the sheer rock faces of Tennessee Valley. Carrizo Plain harbors shrikes, meadowlarks, eagles, falcons, etc… oh, and flowers. Varied Thrush habitat on Mount Tamalpais. I imagine them beaming through this shortcut too.

San Francisco 191

San Francisco Tennessee Falcons Owls 191

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

Keep birding and you might see a White-tailed Kite hovering as it hunts rodents and one of the few Bat Falcons in the Valley might dash into view. Lesser numbers of other common birds also occur; birds like the Gray-crowned Yellowthroat , Inca Doves , saltators, Groove-billed Anis , and other species.

Costa Rica 261

Costa Rica Sparrows Birds Rodents 261

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

Of course, we did, soaking in that slate blue beauty long enough to observe a successful hunt and more of its rangy, awkward flight. Our primeval quarry flashed that cold, knowing smile and flew off, daring us to track it down for better looks. The mighty Shoebill.

Uganda 278

Uganda Africa Birds Penguins 278

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2015

Yet, one other hunting attempt in the same area I do remember. The next memorable hunt came from winter 2006/07. … To everyone’s delight, a Saker Falcon soon appeared, offering excellent views as it banked in a long stoop after a hapless distant passerine. But no, that sighting is no longer in my head, only on paper.

Serbia 255

Serbia 2004 Eagles Chickens 255

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2011

We also have a richness of falcons. Within 4 kilometres of where I live there are two active aeries, a Gyrfalcon’s and a Peregrine Falcon’s. However, in the context of this week, my point is that there is a lot of prime real estate up here for falcon aeries. The landscape is dramatic to say the least.

Falcons 172

Falcons Hunting Breeding Birds 172

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2015

And that is why the hides are where they are, not to admire the scenery (or shoot at it – hunting is prohibited in the reserve and the ban is enforced). The hide overlooking the breeding colony of Red-footed Falcons. Only, this time it has nothing to do with the part of the town but with the neigbours, the feathery ones.

Serbia 255

Serbia Birds Spain Hungary 255

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 21, 2015

One thing you must do is hire a local guide, as while you can hunt for yourself you’ll see a hell of a lot more with one. And watching this from above was a Lanner Falcon. While the skies and every wire fence and electricity cable were filled with Amur Falcons , it took some skill to finally find a Red-footed Falcon among them.

South Africa 145

South Africa Africa Falcons Family 145

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

His musings on falconry in Medieval times begin with the Bayeux Tapestry, which tells the story of the Norman Conquest and is full of birds, including hawks and falcons on the wrists of the main contenders. With Birkhead, you never know what’s going to come next.

Dissection 236

Dissection Birds Research Europe 236

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

Sociable Lapwings breed in several areas along the Kazakhstani – Russian border and overwinter in Iraq, Sudan and northwest India.

India 250

India Sudan Ukraine Camels 250

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 16, 2018

On December 7th an odd looking Peregrine Falcon was observed in Broome at the Sports Ova l. In Australia we often observe Peregrine Falcons and they are the subspecies Falco peregrinus macropus. The Peregrine Falcon at the Sports Oval has been perching on the light towers and is easily observed, but it is a long way up.

Falcons 113

Falcons Australia 2016 Investigation 113

10,000 Birds

JULY 27, 2012

The maintenance man declared that his father was a falconer, and that he would take her home so he could care for her. She taught them how to hunt, and when they were released in the fall she stayed on her perch, dozing in the sun. She wasn’t about to leave her rabbit, and the driver figured something was wrong, so he picked her up.

Rabbits 250

Rabbits New Jersey Neglecting North America 250

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 9, 2017

This morning, they have seen some 10,000 Broad-winged Hawks , mixed up with two dozen Swainson’s Hawks , several Mississippi Kites and one or two King Vultures , Swallow-tailed and Double-toothed Kites , Merlins and Peregrine Falcons. Or a mammal. Or even those pooie reptiles.

Costa Rica 151

Costa Rica Reptiles Farming Mississippi 151

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2012

Like several of my favorite NWRs, this one was established as a haven for migratory birds, most notably waterfowl, during the bad old days when uncontrolled hunting and habitat loss had put the future of even species we now think of as common in doubt. As a result, early migration season is an excellent time to visit.

Wildlife 172

Wildlife Montana Geese Bald Eagle 172

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2011

Great horneds are known as the “Tiger of the Woods&# because they’ll hunt anything and they are good at it, but they are slow and stealthy. When you think of a bird eating raptor, you think of fast birds like Peregrine Falcons and Cooper’s Hawks.

Bats 216

Bats Dissection Owls Minnesota 216

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2011

Red-tailed Hawks and American Kestrels are a sure thing and Ferruginous Hawk, Merlin and Prairie Falcon can be found by the experienced observer. I looked over to see this beautiful male hunting from a perch directly across the bridge from me. Driving on these less traveled country roads is always relaxing and unhurried.

Bald Eagle 174

Bald Eagle Leopards Turkey Eagles 174

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 28, 2011

But the highlight was no doubt the Peregrine Falcon ( Falco peregrinus )that struck at sandpipers mere yards away and then flew by at eye level some 10 metres away while my camera had some electronic hiccup and refused to focus. Ermine will hunt lemmings under the snow, haunting them in their lairs.

Seals 120

Seals Falcons Family Hunting 120

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 8, 2013

Here, thousands of Amur Falcons hunt for insects during the southern summer, Wattled Cranes and Denham’s Bustards may be seen, impressive Long-tailed Widowbirds display over the grasslands and the waterbodies are a haven to many hundreds of waterbirds, including Maccoa and White-backed Ducks.

Lesotho 179

Lesotho Africa Birds Rats 179

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2013

I thought it would be interesting to look at selections of the Stokes’ description of the falcon, which is listed in both guides: Shape in Flight: Very large, heavy-bodied, broad-necked falcon, tail very broad and moderately long, wings fairly long and broad-based for a falcon; outer wings taper to blunt tip.

Birds 170

Birds North America Groups Falcons 170

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

Vulture Hunts Down and Ravages Sea Turtles – Dale Forbes, 10,000 Birds. Once you get past the baldness and the predilection for corpses, you have to admit that the vultures, any of them but some more than others, are impressive birds. The need to travel long distances to seek out dead things necessitates some impressive aerial skills.

California Condor 192

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 192