Pack of three...

[Guest scoobybob]

I have three hawks flying high over my place every evening. I was watching one dive at great speed, landing about 4 gardens up from me. Don’t think it made a kill as it was back up in the air after about 30 seconds.

If my birds are out when these hawks come over, they soon gain height and once level flying with the hawks, they fly circles round the hawks worrying them until they move on.

 

[Tony C]

A pack of three ah!! .......could be Gossamer hawks :-/

[DOVEScot]

I have three hawks flying high over my place every evening. I was watching one dive at great speed, landing about 4 gardens up from me. Don’t think it made a kill as it was back up in the air after about 30 seconds.

If my birds are out when these hawks come over, they soon gain height and once level flying with the hawks, they fly circles round the hawks worrying them until they move on.

 

ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT A SPARROW HAWK OF A PERIGRINE FALCON, SEEMS LIKE A STRANGE PATERN :-/

[ChrisMaidment08]

buzzard

[DOVEScot]

buzzard

 

We have four buzzards in our immediate area and they never bother the pigeons :-/

[ChrisMaidment08]

buzzard wont your birds  will  

[DOVEScot]

Good thing about buzzards and hawks they are teritorial so the buzzards tend to keep the hawks at bay, we only normally get young sparrow hawks venturing into our area, the pigeons watch the buzzards but as soon as a hawk appears they head to the lofts or cotes or take off

[alex wight]

We have a peregrine falcon 300 yards from us in the quary, and they have a similar patern when they have young. One will fly high ready to dive and kill, whilst the other 2 sit at a lower level. I,m presuming that its an adult up high showing the young how to perform a kill. I have witnessed this on 2 occasions.

[DOVEScot]

We have a peregrine falcon 300 yards from us in the quary, and they have a similar patern when they have young. One will fly high ready to dive and kill, whilst the other 2 sit at a lower level. I,m presuming that its an adult up high showing the young how to perform a kill. I have witnessed this on 2 occasions.

 

Is that Skene's stone quarry?

[Guest strapper]

if this hawk dived down into a garden then its very likely it was a sparrowhawk,peregrines almost entirely dive to something in the air,though it has been known but rarely to take a prey in an open area where the prergrine can sustain speed enough for an attack.

[black badge]

Sparrow Hawk's train there young to hunt, you will see them take them up into the sky and see the young practising diving for a kill .

[Guest scoobybob]

These three look like sparrowhawks. All three stay at the same level until one drops like a stone going for the kill. Must say they do not bother the pigeons, well not yet. Its more the pigeons bothering them. They all seem the same size so I cannot tell if its young being taught.

[jimmy white]

peregrines do this with their young as do many hawks ,, but as said b4 in past post , peregrine usually catches them in the air and" plays" with them, dropping the pigeon , then if the youngster doesn't catch it it'll swoop down ,catch the half dead pigeon then repeat , till the youngster catches on , so to me this doesn't sound like a peregrine ,, a sparrow hawk tends to fly like flap flap flap, then a glide then a repeat , these will kill on the ground , these are usually quite easy to tell with their broad ,odd shaped wings , a kestrel [which wont kill pigeons] will go up high ,and tend to hover , fly a bit then hover ,then all of a sudden make a dive ,usually on mice or small birds,, sound to me like kestrels ,,,,,,,,,,talking to a farmer pigeon fancier i know from the kelso area , has a peregrine's nest 1 mile from his loft , also bothered with goshawks, but reckons, now there are many hybrids on the go [bred from escapees and crossed]

[Guest speckled]

(wiseman)(happy) sorry but i  thought packs  3 came  in packets  :X :X :X nature cant  be helped  ut  being polite   :X :X :X seemes  some  got thought them thick skins lol(dizzy) Speck pmsl it  nature ya  cant  change  that ??)

[blueskey]

I had something like this happen to me today , i had my masive team all 10 of my young birds  out  for a float about and as i was watching them ring up into the blue sky i noticed to the left of the birds there was a sparrow hawk , my heart jumpt and i said to my lad (check this out ) the doos started heading towards the spar , as the words W T F are they doing came out my mouth the spar started to head off with the young birds on its tail , they went well out of sight and i thought to myself is that spar being a fly b----d and draging the birds of to a better place to have a go at them ? but sure enough the birds came back into sight and continued to fly for another 30 mins .

[jimmy white]

(wiseman)(happy) sorry but i  thought packs  3 came  in packets  :X :X :X nature cant  be helped  ut  being polite   :X :X :X seemes  some  got thought them thick skins lol(dizzy) Speck pmsl it  nature ya  cant  change  that ??)

 

nature is  a wonderful thing  ;D ;D ;D especially human nature ;D ;D ;D

[Guest speckled]

i best stay  stump  them why?????

:-/

[Guest scoobybob]

From your description Jimmy I would say they were sparrowhawks.. Flap flap then glide and taking there meals from the ground.

[Guest speckled]

now  where pray is avalibale each  time each  day  so  chan ge  make the  hawks move on :-/ go  to  somewhre else for  feeding times

seems  shame ya  have to  change  ya  routine times but hey what helps you to fly  ya  birds at  ya time  inconvinaces the other  flyers i that  area NATURE stricks every  year  :-/

[blueskey]

a sparowhawk will hunt the same place until the food runs out then it moves on , if it is in real need it will hunt day to day birds that it normaly wouldnt chance messing with , (ie) crows ducks pigeons phesants you get the gist , song birds are a sparrow hawks main food .

[Guest speckled]

agree neither  chicken. food  for thouthg

[Guest G.Drysdale + son]

My son went down to our loft this evening and found a dead pigeon stripped to the bones. Later found out it belonged to the old boy next to my loft. Took photo on my phone but don't know how to put it on web hope the doo didn't suffer although i doubt it ,what can we do about it ? No one seems to care apart from us fanciers.

[just ask me]

We have a peregrine falcon 300 yards from us in the quary, and they have a similar patern when they have young. One will fly high ready to dive and kill, whilst the other 2 sit at a lower level. I,m presuming that its an adult up high showing the young how to perform a kill. I have witnessed this on 2 occasions.

 

and u just look at them

[just ask me]

I have three hawks flying high over my place every evening. I was watching one dive at great speed, landing about 4 gardens up from me. Don’t think it made a kill as it was back up in the air after about 30 seconds.

If my birds are out when these hawks come over, they soon gain height and once level flying with the hawks, they fly circles round the hawks worrying them until they move on.

 

this is about the pigeons only defence as most hawks like to attack with surprise and also use the the dive method and the birds are just lettin the hawk no that they can see them if u could tell us the shape of the wings we should be able to sort u oout with what they are and a approx size would help too

[Merlin]

 

 

Our birds will circle Sparrow Hawk for reasons stated above,we know you are here,you cant do much now,its when they dont see it,then advantage of suprise and ambush is on its side,then it can and is usually lethal,look at reaction when a Perigrine comes into view,sheer terror,no bravado from our birds,all pigeon fanciers have an obligation to protect their lofts and inmates against all types of predators,one way is to encourage the re introduction of The European Eagle Owl, in whatever way we can,as they are the supreme predator,and when wild are entitled to same protection under European Wildlife Laws,as any other protected species,lets hope, and soon we see/hear/read,of a court case where one of those R.S.P.B are charged with killing/harassing/capturing/one of those Protected birds.