[obol] backyard hawk comments

[Steven Holt]

Not to mention Sparrow Hawks.  Anyone remember the Derby Flycatcher?  
This name predates me.

When I hawk banded, at Cape May Point, we caught lots of merlins on 
ringed turtle doves, starlings and sparrows.  Most often they would skim 
right over the little lure bird and get caught in the break away mist 
net directly behind the bird.   Sometimes they would see the net in time 
and exhibit their ability to approximate a vertical right angle.  We 
loved catching merlins, but had to tip our hats to the superior flight 
capabilities that  occasionally allowed them to elude us.  It was very 
common to have the merlin approach on the flapping pigeon and as we 
identified the raptor we would immediately rest the pigeon and start 
moving the smaller birds, so I never saw a merlin even try to bind to a 
pigeon.  Usually they would not come within 3 meters of the pigeon.  But 
this could be sample bias since bird specialist falcons mostly prefer 
capturing flying prey.  The merlins invariably passed on completely 
after a shallow dive or switched their focus to the smaller birds that 
were still flying.  A young hungry female merlin could undoubtedly kill 
a pigeon, but not without significant risk of injury.   Their big halux 
talon is not all that large and certainly couldn't do much if any damage 
through the thicker portions of a pigeon's folded wing. The merlin would 
need to stun the pigeon in flight and then quickly sever a vertebra 
before the pigeon beat the hell out of the merlin with its wings.  

Northern Harriers which were Marsh Hawks at the time, would come in and 
nearly stop dead hovering over the starling, which would act as mean, 
loud and nasty as only a starling can.  More often than not the Harrier 
would pass on by, sometimes they would engage in the most comically 
timid game of footsie with the starling.  Very rarely they would grab on 
and get captured.  

Steven 
Holt                                                                               
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