Quail Killer!!!

[wastickslinger]

Here is one to forgot to post this winter. I goto to see this hawk dive bomb the quail in grandpas front yard. I got the camera out in time to get a few before he took off.

[robodad]

Cool pictures !!! 

Love to see mother nature in it's rawest form.

Excellent !! 

[Intruder]

Way cool photos. 

Actually raptors have virtually no impact on game bird populations... cats, skunks, etc do significantly more damage.

[saylean]

Pretty hawk..

[MuleySniper]

Nice! I was wondering when you were gonna dust that camera off!
MS

[tlbradford]

I have seen a family of three Great Horned Owls, and I call them sparrow hawks (not the proper name), in different areas, nearly wipe out a covey of 40 or so quail over the course of a couple of months.

[DOUBLELUNG]

Actually raptors have virtually no impact on game bird populations... cats, skunks, etc do significantly more damage.

Can't agree with the quote, though for most game birds, there is little predation impact on populations IF there is sufficient habitat quality and quantity.  Where either is lacking, as is the case with much of our upland bird habitat, the theory of compensatory mortality may not apply.  That is true of harvest by two-legged terrestrial hunters too.

Great pics of a Cooper's hawk.  Female based on the size, relative to the quail; nearly a 2-year old (adult plumage, eye still brown, turns red third year of life). 

[boneaddict]

I disagree Intruder. 

Neat pictures.

[Intruder]

I disagree Intruder. 

I'm going off what I was told by a biologist who worked upland bird management in the Eastern half of South Dakota.  I don't remember the specifics but based on studies done by SD and I think Delta Waterfowl they didn't show raptors as being a significant impact on game birds.  They don't generally kill entire clutches... they tend to be more opportunistic and take single birds when available.  According to him the biggest threats come from things like ferrel/barn cats, skunks, raccoons, yotes and foxes since they target nests, eggs, and newly hatched chicks. 

I wouldn't disagree with any of you on that a raptor can do a number on a whole covey, especially under the right circumstances.  I think his point was more that on a large scale if a certain bird's hatch survival rate is X%, the presence of raptors doesn't push it below that rate.  In other words in the grand scheme of things they are really small potatoes compared to other factors. 

Doublelung's assertion about quantity and "quality" of habit is spot on.  Everything this guy in SD told me as well as everything I've heard/read/etc. supports this.  The whole quantity thing is pretty obvious but the quality factor is often overlooked.  When you have both things are good. 

[boneaddict]

His observations about  habitat might be the difference between SD and here.  There is alot more of it there.  The animals are bottlenecked here and the hawks work them over good.  I've watched whole populations wiped one bird at a time.  half the reason the Methow doesn't have more upland bird.  Save the raptor, but screw the chuckar, Partridge and Quail.

[Intruder]

Interesting... I wonder if there are differences in particular raptor species in respect to their habits of targeting birds???  I certainly believe you.... I just wonder if they are significantly worse here or not especially compared to the critters he talked about.  Another thing I've seen kill newly hatched chicks is seagulls.  I have on 3 separate occasions watched seagulls decimate a clutches of birds (pheasant and huns). 

You're point about bottlenecks was actually something we did discuss.  I had asked him about pheasant production in E. Wash.  During our discussion he asked me about the cover/habitat around here.  He used the exact word.... bottleneck to describe how a predator can work a covey.  He also talked about narrow strips of cover being easy for a nest robber to find eggs. 

Sorry WASTICKSLINGER   Good discussion though.

[boneaddict]

I don't think its a hijack.....picture says it all.   Crows and magpies are big issues in my part of the world, obviously not many fox.  Throw in a few thousand snakes, which I hadn't thought much of as a problem but seemed to be in my area, but mine is artificial a bit, so...... then skunks, raccoons, and coyotes, and its amazing any of them survive at all.  Then hail and rain coupled withthey are some of the dumbest birds on the planet (speaking pheasant here). bird brained is an understatement.  Then if any of them make it to maturity, the hawk eat on whats left.   Their habitat and cover is being stripped with orchards being removed, and farmers trying to harvest every little piece on their land.  Don't blame them, but...so then they take to cover which is along every road, and then add roadkill to the list.

[Intruder]

It is amazing when you think about the number of things that can impact em.  That's kinda what I took away from what this guy told me.  It's not so much that raptors don't kill em it's that the other things can be much bigger impacts.  Then when you add in the habitat loss all the impacting factors get magnified. 

Starlings will even get upland nests, so I've heard.... not sure if it's true.

[couesbitten]

I'm going to have to disagree also Intruder. Judging by the number of quail that I see in residential areas, their numbers are never going to be threatend, and there are lots of cats running around in most neighborhoods.  Scott

[Intruder]

I'm going to have to disagree also Intruder. Judging by the number of quail that I see in residential areas, their numbers are never going to be threatend, and there are lots of cats running around in most neighborhoods.  Scott

Not trying to be a smartass but I'm not sure an anecdotal observation regarding quail density in a urban environment is a fair comparison.  I hear what you're saying but the whole idea I was trying to relay was that there were actual scientific studies that show relative impact of the various predators on game birds.  I didn't want to imply that raptors never kill game birds, only that other factors have a much greater impact when you look at things on a large scale.  There will certainly be exceptions when you start to narrow down the scale.