Hi All, Yesterday, I came upon a pair of Red-tailed Hawks on Ledyard Road that were locked in combat or that's what it appeared like. A man who saw it all start said there had been a third hawk there when it began. When I first saw them, the hawk on the bottom was barely moving. Then there would be brief heavy moments of struggle with the top hawk being the aggressor. It appeared like the bottom hawk did not escalate the fighting but remained in a defensive posture, curling its wings and tail to protect itself. At the end, they released, had a brief stare down and then the loser flew away. I am wondering if anyone would know the age of the two hawks and if that may help tell the story. I don't have the photos all up yet, but here are some that show the wings and the tail feathers. It was fascinating if not a bit worrisome watching them. I was relieved to see only a bit of blood where the talons were grasping each others, and that they both flew away. I have many more photos, but I think there are enough angles here for id purposes.
http://www.dianawhitingphotography.com/Galleries/Birds/Red-tailed-Hawk-Fight/48060565_ZVDm2x#!i=3936330011&k=cHcxwCf Diana Whiting Diana Whiting http://www.dianawhitingphotography.com/ -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
