Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
What a moment to witness! Lucky someone had a camera.
I once witnessed a golden eagle stoop on a red fox. I was working on a wildlife refuge near Nome and the biologist's floatplane had dropped me off to count the waterfowl using a tundra lake. No other humans for about 70 miles. Census work finished, I wrapped up in a blue poly tarp to get out of the weather and waited for the plane to come pick me up. After a 2 hour wait I noticed this fox approaching from a distance. It was curious about the bizarre blue thing flapping in the wind and was trying to sneak up on it. Of course I didn't have a camera with me, of course.
I watched the fox, the fox watched the tarp, and neither of us noticed this large dark thing swoop out of the sky until it was almost on top of us. Both of us looked up, the fox took about 2 steps, but this juvenile eagle struck the fox full speed knocking it right off its feet. The fox tried to run but only got about 10 feet before the eagle grabbed it again. The eagle stamped around on top of it pulling out tufts of fur, but didn't eat it. Finally I stood up to get a better look and it flew off again. I walked over to the fox. It was a dog fox and really smelled. Most raptors don't have a strong sense of smell/taste but I wondered if it just couldn't decide to eat any of the meat because it was so rank. SO upset about no camera! When the pilot returned I told him the story and even had the fox to prove it.
What a moment to witness! Lucky someone had a camera.
I once witnessed a golden eagle stoop on a red fox. I was working on a wildlife refuge near Nome and the biologist's floatplane had dropped me off to count the waterfowl using a tundra lake. No other humans for about 70 miles. Census work finished, I wrapped up in a blue poly tarp to get out of the weather and waited for the plane to come pick me up. After a 2 hour wait I noticed this fox approaching from a distance. It was curious about the bizarre blue thing flapping in the wind and was trying to sneak up on it. Of course I didn't have a camera with me, of course.
I watched the fox, the fox watched the tarp, and neither of us noticed this large dark thing swoop out of the sky until it was almost on top of us. Both of us looked up, the fox took about 2 steps, but this juvenile eagle struck the fox full speed knocking it right off its feet. The fox tried to run but only got about 10 feet before the eagle grabbed it again. The eagle stamped around on top of it pulling out tufts of fur, but didn't eat it. Finally I stood up to get a better look and it flew off again. I walked over to the fox. It was a dog fox and really smelled. Most raptors don't have a strong sense of smell/taste but I wondered if it just couldn't decide to eat any of the meat because it was so rank. SO upset about no camera! When the pilot returned I told him the story and even had the fox to prove it.
What a moment to witness! Lucky someone had a camera.
I once witnessed a golden eagle stoop on a red fox. I was working on a wildlife refuge near Nome and the biologist's floatplane had dropped me off to count the waterfowl using a tundra lake. No other humans for about 70 miles. Census work finished, I wrapped up in a blue poly tarp to get out of the weather and waited for the plane to come pick me up. After a 2 hour wait I noticed this fox approaching from a distance. It was curious about the bizarre blue thing flapping in the wind and was trying to sneak up on it. Of course I didn't have a camera with me, of course.
I watched the fox, the fox watched the tarp, and neither of us noticed this large dark thing swoop out of the sky until it was almost on top of us. Both of us looked up, the fox took about 2 steps, but this juvenile eagle struck the fox full speed knocking it right off its feet. The fox tried to run but only got about 10 feet before the eagle grabbed it again. The eagle stamped around on top of it pulling out tufts of fur, but didn't eat it. Finally I stood up to get a better look and it flew off again. I walked over to the fox. It was a dog fox and really smelled. Most raptors don't have a strong sense of smell/taste but I wondered if it just couldn't decide to eat any of the meat because it was so rank. SO upset about no camera! When the pilot returned I told him the story and even had the fox to prove it.
Marlon Perkins where were you when I needed you?
Lucky you to witness such an uncommon sight....and to count waterfowl on a tundra lake too.
I loved Marlon Perkins, was a faithful watcher of his shows...
I don't have pictures, but we live on a canal just off a tidal river. Our back yard faces mangroves and a couple of bird rookeries are located due west on small islands in the river. So we see lots of birds as well as other critters activities ( including alligators) as we look outside, and it's fascinating.
The latest bird that seems to have taken up residence in the yard and around close by is a peregrine falcon. I first saw him last week as he flew across the back yard with a mockingbird in hot pursuit. Likely he had designs on the mockingbird's eggs or nestlings, or got too close to the nest, and the mockingbird drove him off as a threat to its young.
The next day, here comes the falcon again, flying across the yard with what looked like a snake in its beak. He got close to the water, and suddenly a bigger hawk of some kind flew out of the mangrove, swooped down near the falcon, though the falcon tore off in the other direction, and got away with his snake. Hard to tell, IMO, whether that bigger bird wanted the falcon or his snake, maybe he figured on a two course meal with the falcon ( he's not a real big bird) and the snake.
It seems as though the falcon decided that the corner of our lanai screen would be a great vantage point for him, there he could see out over the mangrove and into the river. So he spent quite a bit of time there just perusing his surroundings, I guess. Well, we also have a squirrel that sometimes hangs out in the same place, so he showed up when the falcon was sitting on the screen. The squirrel saw him there, snuck up as far as he could go behind the bird, but the bird was not interested in sharing the space with the squirrel. He spread out his wings and opened his beak as birds do when they're threatening something, and the squirrel climbed back down. The squirrel tried climbing up that screen to find a place that wasn't so close to the bird, but the falcon threatened and chased him off wherever he tried to go. The falcon won that round, finally the squirrel took off.
We've seen that falcon several times since then, either hanging out in a tree on the property, or sitting on the corner of that screen enclosure.
Why is this thing about Fox News, Playboy (the rabbit), and our country (bird) not gaining more traction? That song from that Norwegian comedy duo called Ylvis called The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?), was probably not thinking of this event in nature.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
