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Post Info TOPIC: Quite a sight, it took a crow (pics added)
nhcrowshooter


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Quite a sight, it took a crow (pics added)
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Yesterday 10gacrowshooter and I were hunting in a small cornfield bordered by woods.  Late in our hunt a big redtail hawk landed in a tree limb about 50 yards a away to our right.  He sat there for about 5 minutes before gliding across our decoys and pouncing on a crow in the tree line to our left, which must have been still alive.  He carried it out towards our decoys and proceeded to pull it apart and eat it 35 yards from us.  Two singles came in while he was doing this.  We thought any incoming crows would go nuts with a redtail eating a crow outside the decoys but neither birds seemed to notice before we shot them.  The hawk ignored the gunfire and continued with its meal.  Finally he took the carcass and went airborne low over our decoys and up into the trees to our right where he came from.  I have to wonder if the hawk has not only figured the gunfire poses no threat but the sound of the callers and shot means dinner is on.  I had something similiar happen about 20 years ago where a another redtail seemed to be working with me while I shot crows flying over the decoys as crows approached and landing in alternately landing in trees to my left and right as I shot crows. 

 



-- Edited by nhcrowshooter on Monday 19th of March 2012 12:41:55 PM

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shaddart


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RE: Quite a sight, it took a crow
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Pretty cool Pete, I've had hawks & eagles around while shooting crows & while they don't seem bothered by the shooting, they don't seem interested in the crows at all. Maybe I don't kill enough to ring the dinner bell. LOL Jerry

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nhcrowshooter


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Quite a sight, it took a crow (pics added)
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This morning 10gacrowshooter and I returned to the same spot we hunted yesterday afternoon to catch the morning flights. A beautiful day starting in the high 30's and hitting close to 80 degrees before we left around 1:30. We ended up with 46 crows between us. Within minutes of starting our callers the redtail hawk appeared and landed on the same tree branch he used for a perch the day before and stayed to watch the action. He is about 50 yards away in the picture.  He was sitting in this perch when a crow came in between us, just after my shot I looked at the hawk for his reaction, (a 10ga is pretty loud when fired in your direction.)  He never flinched and his head followed the crows arc to the ground, he seemed to be enjoying the show LOL.



He watched several crows get shot before swooping down in the decoys to pounce on one still moving. We focused our attention on shooting crows for the next 45 minutes or so before deciding to pick up the dead ones that had fallen outside of the decoys. We walked out and started picking up and throwing birds. Much to our surprise the redtail was in the field near the decoys eating another crow, when 10ga got within 20 paces he took off carrying the carcass and flew by me at eyeball height about 15 yards away (and we wondered why the crows didn't react to it, we didn't see him until he took off and we were close, talk about great camouflage!). He took his meal into the nearby woods to finish it. He reappeared a short time later and sat behind us.

The camera phone does no justice as he is only 20 yards behind the blind in this picture.



He stayed around most of the morning and pounced on three or four more crows that still moved after hitting the ground.

View from the blind, decoys are about 25 to 30 yards out.



The blind, if you close in the top center you can make out 10ga crowshooters head.



We also ran into another oddity today. One of the crows we shot had a severely infected foot. This had to be a problem for him.

Tomorrow morning I suspect the hawk will return and be disappointed to find our 10 gauge buffet table is not open for business.


 



-- Edited by nhcrowshooter on Monday 19th of March 2012 12:41:16 PM

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TexasMatt


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RE: Quite a sight, it took a crow
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We had a great horned owl snatch a dead crow out of our decoy spread once. The crow had only been down about 5 seconds when the owl swooped in.

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NGillespie10


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pretty cool

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Skip


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Years ago, when I was still shooting a fair amount of crows with a rifle, I saw perhaps the most remarkable "hawk-crow" event I will ever see. Exploded by a 53 grain Hornady HP from a 22/250, a hawk caught one of the larger flying fragments of that crow in midair. I never saw the hawk until he snagged his lunch... he never slowed down and continued across a field and into the woods with a reddish attachment in his talons..

nhcs, your story is remarkable as well. How or why the hawk did not sense any danger to it... is amazing. Mother Nature at work, I presume.

 

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Pat B


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I've had bald eagles buzz over my decoys. Even seen them grab a dead crow (or what I thought was dead) a couple of times. Cool to watch when it happens

Pat

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8fishermen


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RE: Quite a sight, it took a crow (pics added)
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Sounds like you made a friend.



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shaddart


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Kinda like having a retriever.

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