# Not the wisest move by this red tailed hawk **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 29, 2013, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242 "2013-03-29T04:41:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242/21 "2013-03-29T20:01:04Z")
> [@ducati](#): > > . > > Unless you live in Alaska or Montana, you just don’t get to see eagles and contemplate just how large they are. Hey. Minnesota here and just recently saw 12 eagles in a tree. Anyway, this Eagle was clearly hungry and sent out for some food to be delivered. ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242/22 "2013-03-29T20:23:41Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Youtube link for same footage. > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s8anVG-o\_I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s8anVG-o_I) That worked, thanks. Wow, that’s a lot of feathers being tossed about. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242/23 "2013-03-29T21:39:53Z")
He may have lost, but the falcon’s body weight was half balls. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242/24 "2013-03-29T21:47:19Z")
We have a nesting pair less than a mile away here on the outskirts of Denver. Man, that hawk was dumb. Either that, or the eagle called for delivery. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242/25 "2013-03-29T21:53:10Z")
Well, the Golden Eagles are back in our woods for the season, we just lost our last little black runner duck. [not many predators will go into a pen of geese and select a snack. They regularly kick raccoon and opossum butt, and the owls will only go after the guinea fowls] ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242/26 "2013-03-29T23:49:52Z")
That’s pretty much the definition of a beat down. That hawk got trashed within the first minute. After that it was dinner time for the Eagle. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242/27 "2013-03-29T23:53:37Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > I’m on the valley edge of the SF Bay Area and we have and see plenty of golden eagles. We occasionally see a bald eagle. Where? Are the public parks or hiking trails around there? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242/28 "2013-03-30T02:51:01Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Hey. Minnesota here and just recently saw 12 eagles in a tree. > > Anyway, this Eagle was clearly hungry and sent out for some food to be delivered. Probably vultures with toupees. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242/29 "2013-03-30T02:53:53Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Where? Are the public parks or hiking trails around there? Vasco Road between Livermore and Brentwood. 10 am to noon is the best time I find. Golden Eagles are huge. I’ve also seen a Bald Eagle on two occasions on the same road. The local east bay park people tell me there are six pair of goldies and that Baldy is a loner and hangs out at Vasco Reservoir if he/she is in the area at all. I’ve also seen a Bald Eagle near Napa on 29. I really should watch the road. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242/30 "2013-03-30T03:23:06Z")
Wow, not only did it attack a much larger bird, it attacked from head on - the eagle saw the hawk coming. That is dumb, even for a bird; I’d expect a hawk to at least grasp the concept of attacking from behind or above. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242/31 "2013-03-30T06:50:37Z")
Americabird! Fuck yeah! Red-tailed=Commies. > [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > I’m on the valley edge of the SF Bay Area and we have and see plenty of golden eagles. We occasionally see a bald eagle. What’s valley edge? Tracy/Stockton type places? I had no idea they were there. I guess they pass through. Red-tailed hawks are everywhere though. Kind of pests in some way. Goldens are rarer but around. And it’s not like it was a Kestrel or something like that. Red-tailed hawks aren’t exactly tiny. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242/32 "2013-03-30T08:55:53Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Wow, not only did it attack a much larger bird, it attacked from head on - the eagle saw the hawk coming. That is dumb, even for a bird; I’d expect a hawk to at least grasp the concept of attacking from behind or above. not only that, it seemed to have landed right into the eagle’s talon despite the fact that the eagle didn’t really have room to maneuver into such a sweet spot. would a crash landing like that have worked against another bird of the same size? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242/33 "2013-03-30T18:39:05Z")
That was clearly a _“suicide by eagle”!_ 😃 Tahoe has lots of big-ass eagles. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242/34 "2013-03-30T22:58:20Z")
Speaking of bad judgment by hawk, I saw a different fatal result on the highway this morning. Apparently a hawk decided to swoop down for some juicy roadkill and got so absorbed in dinner that it didn’t notice oncoming traffic in time. I’m wondering if another unwary predator will make it a three-fer. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242/35 "2013-03-31T08:44:07Z")
I guess one could argue that these dumb hawks are improving the hawk gene pool by removing themselves from it. I say, give them Darwin Awards. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242/36 "2013-04-07T00:26:15Z")
There are lots of bald eagles in Illinois, mostly along the Mississippi River, and primarily in January and February. I saw one map that indicated there were some breeding pairs year-round. ---
**Author:** ![kirk1168](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@kirk1168](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirk1168)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242/37 "2013-04-07T15:37:14Z")
I pass a bald eagle nest on my way to work every day, a few miles north of Pittsburgh. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242/38 "2013-04-07T16:47:08Z")
If the taste of their flesh usually suits your tastes, there must be something incredibly satisfying about killing _and feasting on_ your attacker after successfully defending you and your offspring from their attack. Truly, the taste of victory! 😃 And just to add to the chorus of those pointing out that the bald eagle has largely reclaimed its formerly wide range, there are plenty of eagles in Florida, even all the way down in The Keys. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission website even has an [official Eagle Nest Locator map](https://public.myfwc.com/FWRI/EagleNests/nestlocator.aspx#search) with \*lots \*of entries. ---
**Author:** ![toofs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@toofs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toofs)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242/39 "2013-04-07T17:08:03Z")
Damn Nature, You Scary! ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242/40 "2013-04-08T13:04:31Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > And just to add to the chorus of those pointing out that the bald eagle has largely reclaimed its formerly wide range, there are plenty of eagles in Florida, even all the way down in The Keys. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission website even has an [official Eagle Nest Locator map](https://public.myfwc.com/FWRI/EagleNests/nestlocator.aspx#search) with \*lots \*of entries. One of my coworkers is known as “Eagle Girl” since she’s the County staffer in charge of keeping tab on eagle nests. If there’s one thing a developer never wants to hear, it’s, “There’s an eagle nest on your property.” ETA: I’m way down near the everglades. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-wisest-move-by-this-red-tailed-hawk/654242.md?page=3)