Romany 1,065 Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 Is there a reason why they dont kill the bird outright and decide to eat them when they are still alive? Or is this a trait in younger birds learning how to catch its own food?... Dont think its a young bird thing matie, just been out for sparrowhawks and one adult female ate her chaffinch sandwich alive.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Romany 1,065 Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 Never seen a wild gos my self,That can be romany`s next mission if he ever comes back from the sparrow hawk.... Got the sparrowhawks weasle, had a great day with them, pleanty of activity.. Seen wild goshawks here in Northumberland..photographing them.....mmmmm that would be an achievement Quote Link to post Share on other sites
weasle 1,119 Posted October 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 Never seen a wild gos my self,That can be romany`s next mission if he ever comes back from the sparrow hawk.... Got the sparrowhawks weasle, had a great day with them, pleanty of activity.. Seen wild goshawks here in Northumberland..photographing them.....mmmmm that would be an achievement Look forward to seeing them, gos tommorrow then? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
johnny boy68 11,725 Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 Got a few Goshawks round here too..........It seems to be BOP heaven down here and not a pheasant for miles. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
whippet 99 2,613 Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 Yeah natures cruel,Watched a show ,a pride a lions found a young elephant they Fed on it for hours before it died One wrong decision and your dead.You just have to take it as it is. As for the gosh hawk best looking bird in the world.. If i ever get to old for running around with lurcher's thats what i would go for, think of the amount of phezzies you could kill. Whippet99 something like that looks like a target on the tree in the first pic......................lol 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Romany 1,065 Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 Is there a reason why they dont kill the bird outright and decide to eat them when they are still alive? Or is this a trait in younger birds learning how to catch its own food?... Some of the falconry lads might be able to answer that best, but I'm it's definitely not just younger birds learning, and I think Sparrowhawks feet are designed more for catching and holding rather than puncturing and killing, therefore as soon as bigger prey is immobilised they start to eat it. Also why waste energy killing when it can eat it alive? And time spent on the ground with prey they can't lift, is time when they're most vulnerable to other predators? I've always just wondered why they do that and probably another reason i'm not to keen on them. Have they got any predators really? There very good at positioning what they've killed on tree stumps or higher vantage points. When they catch in the woods its a tell tale sign of them.... Yeah they love posts and vantage points, but also strip their prey on the floor, watched one the other day with a chaffy on the floor, took ages to feed on it, it was very cagey watching all the time Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lab 10,979 Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 Is there a reason why they dont kill the bird outright and decide to eat them when they are still alive? Or is this a trait in younger birds learning how to catch its own food?... Some of the falconry lads might be able to answer that best, but I'm it's definitely not just younger birds learning, and I think Sparrowhawks feet are designed more for catching and holding rather than puncturing and killing, therefore as soon as bigger prey is immobilised they start to eat it. Also why waste energy killing when it can eat it alive? And time spent on the ground with prey they can't lift, is time when they're most vulnerable to other predators? I've always just wondered why they do that and probably another reason i'm not to keen on them. Have they got any predators really? There very good at positioning what they've killed on tree stumps or higher vantage points. When they catch in the woods its a tell tale sign of them.... Yeah they love posts and vantage points, but also strip their prey on the floor, watched one the other day with a chaffy on the floor, took ages to feed on it, it was very cagey watching all the time Usually a wee pile of feathers when there hitting the young poults and then you go for a wee wander and find a dead bird plucked behind a tree or on a stump. Glad i dont need to worry about that now... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Romany 1,065 Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 (edited) Well it was a chaffy Edited October 2, 2012 by Romany 10 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
weasle 1,119 Posted October 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 Yeah not bad Most impressive is you were able to go out and get the shot on the day. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Romany 1,065 Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 Yeah not bad Most impressive is you were able to go out and get the shot on the day. Got over 200 shots on the day matie..not all keepers though, as I was after flight shots, and a lot are brown blurrs, and others have wings cut off, but getting there Quote Link to post Share on other sites
christian71 3,187 Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 should of shot the fecker with a gun not a camara 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Romany 1,065 Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 should of shot the fecker with a gun not a camara Thats a bit harsh Quote Link to post Share on other sites
christian71 3,187 Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 should of shot the fecker with a gun not a camara Thats a bit harsh Maybe but you could kill the lot for me Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kenny14 656 Posted October 3, 2012 Report Share Posted October 3, 2012 This is my best (only!) pic of a Gos, though I've often watched them when they've approached the pens, and they've always landed outside and sat watching for anything up to half an hour before swooping down on a poult. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ferretgirl79 200 Posted October 3, 2012 Report Share Posted October 3, 2012 Well it was a chaffy Wow what a great pic,do you mind me asking what distance away you were and what lens you used. x Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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