Lightning strikes...

[Ladobe]

Had an event this morning I thought you might find interesting reading...

I was sitting in the easy chair out on my back patio mid morning today soaking up the sun while hand feeding some of the regular guests who come to all my feeders and stay pretty much around my property.   This session it was one of four of last years cottontails born in a bush by the house, 6-7 pairs of the 60 quail that come around, maybe 15 of the hundreds of mourning doves and about 30 song birds of several species.   They all know me well, have become quite tame and come as close as around my feet when I go out with food in hand for them.   I've even got a male Costa's hummer that trap lines and considers the feeders on the place his personal property.   He will sometimes land on my arm between sips of nectar and trying to run off any of the other 8-9 species of hummers I get.   So anyway, I'm sitting there giving handouts to the "gang", when a Merlin Falcon suddenly streaked from the breezeway on the side of my house only 2-3 feet off the ground, banked into the patio and snatched up a red house finch that was so close to my bare foot/leg that the falcon caught a wing on my leg sending both it and the finch tumbling across the patio a few feet.   There was an explosion as all the other birds flushed wildly, and the cottontail dove under my chair for protection.   The Merlin gathered his composure and his kill, gave me a long "so what are you looking at" stare from 5 feet away and flew up into one of my ash trees to enjoy his mid morning snack.

This guy came silently out of nowhere and hit in a nanosecond taking all of us by total surprise.   I've seen several species of hawks and falcons take birds mid air a few times in the sky above my place, usually doves, but this was the first time literally at my feet.   Why he picked one of the smallest targets I don't know as he certainly had his choice and was capable of taking any of them (or my big toe).

Anyway, the natural sound of this encounter still rings in my head, so if any of the call makers want to tune and market a call for this sound, it sounds something like.....

H O L Y    C R A P !!!   :shck:

Larry

[coyotehunter_1]

It sounds like Mr. falcon has also found your feeders to be a good source for a easy meal.  Thank goodness it didn't like the looks of your feet. 

Good read, thanks for sharing... 

[HaMeR]

How cool is that!!!!!!!!!

The closest I've come was last fall a red tail hawk swept down on the gas line about 35yds from me & tried to catch a fox squirrel. He didn't get it and the squirrel disappeared up a tree.  :roflmao:

[FinsnFur]

  THAT woulda been some good footage, wow

[Bopeye]

That is awesome!! I would love to have been sitting there with you and see that. Sometimes life's best moments happen so unexpectedly........

[Brad H]

What a neat experience! Thanks for posting that.

Brad

[Arkyyoter]

I felt as if I were there......


Joe

[FinsnFur]

You werent there Joe    Otherwise you woulda jumped too, hit your head and he would a told us about that.   

[Bob D]

Time to get out the pellet gun Labode, gotta protect those corn fed birds !!!

[Arkyyoter]

Jim....   :shck:    

[FinsnFur]

 

[Ladobe]

Didn't startle me enough to make me jump... it all happened too fast.   But over the years I've jumped deer and elk out of day beds many times, had a turkey flush under my feet on a pheasant hunt so close it knocked my hat off, had coyotes, fox or badgers get within a couple of feet behind me unseen before I noticed them and a couple of mountain lions called in I didn't sense and then see until they were only a few feet away that nearly made me pee my pants.    Oh and quite a few rattlesnakes stepped on before seen too (with one that got me).   I'd say all of those times startled me real good and got the heart pounding.   

My target pellet pistol stays on the kitchen counter next to the sliding door to the patio.   But its for the rock doves that raid my feeders and bully the other birds.   Gets used daily, sometimes several times a day, but it doesn't have enough power to always end the careers of those GD pigeons.   Been thinking about buying another scoped pellet rifle with over twice the power of the pistol.  Gave my son the Crow Magnum years ago, which is THE pellet rifle.   But they don't make them any more.