There's a colony of pigeons that likes to hang out on the wires across the street to the south of my house. I took this photo of them from my dining room window in October. Unlike then, today is sunny with a beautiful blue sky. I was on the front porch when suddenly a pigeon came hurtling over the front of it, swooped across the street to the schoolyard and slammed into the chain-link fence, recovered and flapped off again at high speed.
"What the ... ?!?" I just had time to think, before a peregrine falcon came hurtling after it in hot pursuit. The falcon turned neatly before it got to the fence, and they disappeared over some houses, the falcon only a few feet behind the pigeon.
Sorry pigeon, it looks like this will be your fate. (Don't click if you're squeamish.)
The cycle around our house goes like this: I put out seed in the feeder, all the little birds flock around happily, all the little birds suddenly and mysteriously disappear, and when I look there's a big old red-tail hawk sitting patiently in one of the trees. Never let it be said the Bronx doesn't still have a bit of that old danger left...
ReplyDeleteOh and I meant to also say -- those pigeons look a bit like if you were musical you could play them...
ReplyDeleteI think I've seen some cartoons based on that idea!
ReplyDeleteI love that you have hawks in your neighborhood. Urban wildlife rocks.