# The birds molt



## 4x4 (Sep 6, 2017)

Pretty cool to see the transformation from juvenile to adult plumage. She doesn't even look like the same bird. 
She caught 56 squirrels last season. As a seasoned squirrelhawk I hope we catch 75+.


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## Nicodemus (Sep 6, 2017)

That is an absolutely beautiful red tail hawk.

Thanks for the pictures.


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## Hillbilly stalker (Sep 7, 2017)

Beautiful bird.


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## deermaster13 (Sep 7, 2017)

Beautiful bird thanks for posting them, look forward to more.


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## The mtn man (Sep 7, 2017)

That's awesome!!!


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## NCHillbilly (Sep 8, 2017)

Just something about a redtail. That is a very impressive bird.


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## GT-40 GUY (Sep 19, 2017)

Where I hunt the hawks move in as soon as the deer season is over and they clean out the squirrels. So if you want to hunt squirrels you better start now.

gt40

PS: While I have sat in my stand I've watched hawks grab squirrels then fly up into a tree and pull off a front leg and then pull out the heart, liver and lungs then drop the rest on the ground. Very wasteful.


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## Nicodemus (Sep 19, 2017)

GT-40 GUY said:


> Where I hunt the hawks move in as soon as the deer season is over and they clean out the squirrels. So if you want to hunt squirrels you better start now.
> 
> gt40
> 
> PS: While I have sat in my stand I've watched hawks grab squirrels then fly up into a tree and pull off a front leg and then pull out the heart, liver and lungs then drop the rest on the ground. Very wasteful.





What the hawk drops will be used by an opportunistic feeder. Very little goes to waste in Nature.


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## 4x4 (Sep 19, 2017)

GT-40 GUY said:


> Where I hunt the hawks move in as soon as the deer season is over and they clean out the squirrels. So if you want to hunt squirrels you better start now.
> 
> gt40
> 
> PS: While I have sat in my stand I've watched hawks grab squirrels then fly up into a tree and pull off a front leg and then pull out the heart, liver and lungs then drop the rest on the ground. Very wasteful.



That's cool, hawks must have read the regulations and wait for deer hunters to leave the woods....riiiiiight

After reading this, I went to the shop and got my birds food for the day. I am 34 yrs old, 160 pounds and pretty strong for my size. I could not for the life of me pull a leg off a whole squirrel. You must have witnessed some super mutant hawk with superhawk strength. 

When a hawk catches a squirrel (except for mutant hawks)after it is fully dispatched every time they pull the lower jaw out, and that is how they begin to eat a squirrel. I mean...I only witnessed it 56 times last season. 
A 1000 gram hawk cannot fly vertical with a squirrel that weighs 350-400 grams on average. Owls yes. Hawks no. Unless it is that mutant hawk. Where is this hawk anyways sounds like a jam up falconry hawk I'll come trap it.

Sorry for the ball busting but...I just see no truth in your comments. If you seen a hawk take a vertical flight into a tree with a squirrel it would have to of been a very young juvenile






Nicodemus said:


> What the hawk drops will be used by an opportunistic feeder. Very little goes to waste in Nature.



Even maggots got to eat.


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## GT-40 GUY (Sep 19, 2017)

I watched it twice and after the hawk dropped the squirrel I went down and picked it up and looked at what was left of the squirrel and both of them had one front leg missing and the heart, liver and lungs were gone.Maybe it was a goshawk which is larger than a redtail I think. I am not sure of the kind of hawk, but I am very sure of what was done to the squirrel.

gt40

PS: I don't think I saw the hawk grab the squirrels on the ground I think they grabbed them off a branch or trunk and fly with it to another tree. That I am not sure of, but I did inspect the squirrels and the only way the insides were removed through the hole in the chest where the front leg was missing. Maybe wild hawks have different hunting techniques then pets that are trained differently.


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## cuda67bnl (Sep 19, 2017)

Not to bust your bubble, but not all hawks break in at the lower jaw. Thats an idividual trait. Most will break in under a front leg. But Ive only caught a couple thousand squirrels with hawks, so I could be wrong.


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## cuda67bnl (Sep 19, 2017)

Also, no species of hawk will just eat a nibble and leave their catch. They'll crop up because they dont know when their next meal is. If they were bumped from their catch, they might. But they dont kill for the fun of it or just to have a snack.


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## GT-40 GUY (Sep 19, 2017)

How about owls? I had dozens of ducks. They are killed at night by owls and everyone of my ducks were found on the lawn near the edge of the pond. Within 30 yards of the water. Everyone had their necks and head stripped of meat and the body was never touched.

I was told by other farmers that the same thing happened to their ducks and they saw owls do the killing. I never saw what killed mine, but everyone of mine were the same. When I lived up in NY my wife and I was eating on out back porch at dusk when a large owl swooped down and hit one of our cats walking toward the barn. It grabbed it by the head and kept going. It hit it so hard that it completely deheaded that cat. It happened so fast that the headless cat was flipping all over the place. I don't think that the owl planned to do that it just hit it so hard that it pulled its head off and flew away with it.

gt40


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## GT-40 GUY (Sep 19, 2017)

cuda67bnl

Maybe it was the same hawk and it did that because there were so many squirrels to pick off and only wanted the hot tasty parts.

gt40


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## cuda67bnl (Sep 20, 2017)

Owls dont have a crop. They will eat til their belly is full then leave. Hawks have a crop and will gorge themselves filling their crop. Both will often return and eat more from the carcass later as well. Great Horned Owls can take a duck off of water and never get a feather wet. They take cats as well, though they can easily die later if the cat gets a bite or scratch in, as they carry salmanella b


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## cuda67bnl (Sep 20, 2017)

By the way, coons are also notorious for getting into bird pens and only eating the head. In fact, they'll reach through chicken, pigeon, etc, pens, and pulled the head through the wire. Many an owl has been blamed for a coon's work.


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## GT-40 GUY (Sep 20, 2017)

cuda67bnl said:


> By the way, coons are also notorious for getting into bird pens and only eating the head. In fact, they'll reach through chicken, pigeon, etc, pens, and pulled the head through the wire. Many an owl has been blamed for a coon's work.



I never thought of coons. They could have been the culprits that got my ducks.

gt40


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## blood on the ground (Sep 21, 2017)

My favorite bird.. Great pictures and story. Thanks for sharing!


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