Prairie flacons are majestic birds of prey that are found throughout North America, In Canada, they are found in British Columbia, southern Alberta, and southern Saskatchewan, as well as the western part of the United States, stretching all the way down into northern Mexico. Adult falcons can have a wingspan of up to 3.5 feet and weigh up to 3.5 pounds
Opportunistic predators, they will eat a wide variety of prey. Their diet can include mammals, such as rabbits, hares, and ground squirrels, as well as birds, such as grouse, pheasants, and waterfowl. They have also been known to prey on reptiles, such as snakes and lizards, as well as fish.
Prairie falcons are known for their incredible hunting abilities. They use their excellent eyesight to spot prey from great distances, and then swoop down to attack with incredible speed and accuracy. They are capable of diving at speeds over 150 miles per hour, and chasing speeds near 50 mph, making them one of the fastest birds in the world.
When hunting however, they will often fly very low to the ground before they strike their prey with their sharp talons. They use their talons to catch and kill their prey, gripping it tightly and puncturing it with their sharp claws.
That’s a powerful bird, but what does all that mean? This video sums it up pretty quickly and leaves you with no questions about what these birds are capable off. A prairie falcon is seen (well, not really “seen” since the thing is flying so damn fast) flying low to the ground towards in towards a mallard duck. The falcon strikes hard and fast and the bird rolls backwards, still on the ground.
At first, it seems as if it missed its target. Then you realize the duck nearly got its head ripped clean off and that the falcon struck with such power that it ripped the bird’s head so hard that it broke the neck.
It then lands nearby to enjoy the spoils of the hunt.
Wild Turkey Slams Hawk To Protect Her Chicks
Motherly love at its finest.
If you’ve spent anytime in the woods and have come across any bird chicks, you know that birds change when they have young. Hawks will attack, grouse will too, they chirp, charge and fly around all to protect their young. It’s really a pretty cool thing, the birds put aside their strong natural instincts and protect at all costs.
Turkeys have a large job for protection. They have clutches generally with 10 to 14 chicks. That’s a big target for many animals right from them being eggs up to when they are becoming fully grown. Just about everything that eats meat out there is looking to get ahold of them somewhere along the line.
Enter hawks.
They are tree top predators that generally looks for small prey to swoop in and grab quickly. They are not looking for any sort of fight. They like to get in and out with a quick strike and go elsewhere to have their meal. This hawk saw a whole bunch of small birds wandering together and thought it had found just that… an easy target. However, the hen had some different plans.
As the hawk comes into view on the video the mother turkey is attacking it quicker than it swooped down in. The mother immediately is on top it and I can only imagine she’s laying the spurs right to it. The hawk takes off and the turkey is right on its tail flying it out of the area.
Watch out if you come across some turkey chicks, that’s a big bird with weapons attached to their legs that’s coming at ya. They certainly don’t seem afraid, but I probably would be.
Hawk & Bobcat Go Head To Head
Woohoo, what a fight.
There’s just something about seeing a predator in action that is remarkably cool. Throw in a second predator of a different species and we have ourselves a real battle on our hands. Each predator is different in their methods of hunting but often have the same goals; get as much food while using the least amount of energy.
This is every hunter’s dream in all reality though. Even us hunters and outdoorsmen wish we could get the great big bull elk with next to no effort regardless of how much we all say we love the chase. We would take the easy route for a big boi every time.
Most of the time, predators don’t clash. They almost seem to be aware of each other and more often than not stay clear and let each other carry on about their business. But, every once in a while, a predator will catch wind of another one and think it’s time for a good old fashioned showdown.
The only issue with this, is that more often than not, these animals all know how to have a scrap. This seems to be the situation here. We don’t have the full story, but if I was a betting man, I would say the hawk wanted to have a go at the bobcat and the initial attack didn’t go as planned. We see a hawk on its back, talons in the air in defense mode as the bobcat approaches. The hawk is playing pure defense as it’s out of its element in a ground fight.
The bobcat seemingly toys with the hawk as it tries to claw at it, no real way in to attack without getting some talons to the face. The two stare each other down before realizing that they come from the same place and are in for a wild fight before it will be over. A fight that probably just isn’t worth it.
Cooler heads prevails and both live to fight another day.
