Bird breeder lost a prize.
This high treetop is the territory of a Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus).
Thankfully, not every day that we see this, but nature has its own rules.
Note: This post is not for sensitive people.
We came here for me to get some mountain shots, but as I parked the car, I saw some feathers on the ground. I just knew that something was up, and so I followed the feathers. The rest I will show you below. There are a number of racing pigeons and homing pigeon breeders over here, and we sometimes see big flocks of them circling around in the sky. It is a big money business this, and the breeders have won many awards for their champion birds.
The difference between racing and homing pigeons is that the racing pigeons fly at speed between a point A and a point B. The first one to arrive is the winner. The homing pigeons are taken away in cages to distances very far off, and then they are set free from the cages to fly back home. They also enter competitions by the breeders and the first one that arrives back home is declared as the champion. Normally the champion birds are then auctioned off to the highest bidder, and the buyer then start to mate them with his own birds.
But I digress and come and look what I found.
Here below is a shot that I got in of the mountain, and its cold here now as winter is approaching.
Feathers! Lots of them laying below the tree.
So, my idea was to follow the feathers.
So, I put my detective hat on, and I found a rather nasty surprise. I never like to see any animals hurt and I can just imagine what happened here. Let me show you below what I found.
Now look at that nasty surprise. It was a pedigree ringed pigeon.
Thankfully, a friendly face was waiting for us as we got back home.
We were downhearted at what I found, but we have also learned to respect the occurrences in nature, as in nature the birds of prey also have to eat and in nature nothing goes to waste. I am thinking of going back tomorrow to remove the rings on the pigeon's legs and to hand the rings in at our local vet. They might have a way to trace the owner from the information on the rings.
The new crop of young squirrels has also now arrived, and we are glad as for the past weeks we only had one squirrel in the garden. Now we have since counted four of these little ones, and they are from the previous litter and very inquisitive critters. Sadly, we have not seen the one with the broken legs for over a week now, and we don't know if it is still alive. But there is always hope.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
Until next time, cheers.
That's right, this post isn't for the faint of heart. The scene with the dead pigeon is pretty gruesome—I don't like seeing this side of nature either—but as you say, the hawk has to eat too.
Yeah, and as it is, I was hesitant to post the last picture. But now I have deleted it, as it did not affect the quality of the post. We are known as bird lovers, and the road kills that we see at times drive my wife to tears.
Regardless of their drastic eating habits, we also love the predators, as they form an important part in the eco-system.
!PIZZA and !LUV
Nature is rough, and those birds of prey need to eat as well. That homing pigeon wasn't nearly fast enough to escape the speed of a falcon that much is for sure. But, I'm sure it made a good meal for the hunter. That must be one of the risks of being in the pigeon racing business, loss of birds must happen frequently. I guess once you have a champion you keep it safe and don't race it after that, and use them only for breeding.
Hopefully the vet can notify the owner and deliver the bands so they know the fate of the bird. But it did leave you some yardwork to clean up and a run to the vets office...
Glad to hear the squirrels are back with they young ones. They will be around most days I would imagine waiting for that free food! What a shame that the injured one hasn't reappeared, that's not usually a good sign. Enjoy those young squirrels and doves, it must be great entertainment in addition to photo opportunities!
I hope the weather doesn't cool down too fast!
Sorry man, as I am struggling here with a blocked drain in the kitchen for the past two days, and the worst thing about plumbing is that it is not easy to work on the pipes in confined spaces.
Now to get back to your comment, nature gets gory at times, but we love all of it, as the birds of prey also has to eat, and you are right, as a pigeon stands no chance against a falcon. Especially a peregrine, as they are the fastest of the falcons. Yes, the breeders have to face many losses, and they keep the champions at home to breed more champions. Or they sell them to other breeders for big money.
I went back there to get the rings, and by grace the owner's phone number was on the one ring. We called him and he said that he will send us the details of his bird club, as they keep all the records of the birds on a data base.
Now here is another thing, the big mom is hanging around, and when she sees one the youngsters, she chases it away. We know this as weaning, as the youngsters must also learn to feed themselves with the offerings of nature. But of course, at times when the mom is not here, they simply sneak in for a bite to eat :)
Fun times indeed.
Rain here for the next three days, according to the weather forecast.
!PIZZA
!BEER
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