Hawks in the city

[TransformX]

Due to the increased building on large areas in Israel, falcons started trading cliffs for pots on tall buildings for their nests.
One such falcon is this:

You can see interesting information about birds here and a video stream of the falcon (which has laid 5 eggs, expected to hatch next week) can be seen here: http://www.tau.ac.il/video/Research/...Birds/live.asx

[az]

Birds of prey are so beautiful.

[Dr Mordrid]

Downtown Detroit is home to a breeding population of Peregrin Falcons, the fastest animal on Earth, which reside and nest at the top of skyscrapers & bridges. In a stoop (dive) they achieve speeds of >200 mph. Sure keeps down the pidgeon population while providing a bit of entertainment when they nest in office winows etc.



Here are some Flash videos of this years nest built by Horus & Hathor, a pair residing in Macomb County just north of Detroit;

http://www.macombcountymi.gov/peregrine/Flash/rtn_egg.html

http://www.macombcountymi.gov/peregrine/Flash/CamFinal.html

http://www.macombcountymi.gov/peregrine/Flash/Birdcam_04_21_2006_1.html

http://www.macombcountymi.gov/peregrine/Flash/Birdcam_04_21_2006.html

In the suburbs and beyond Red-tailed Hawks, a rather large raptor which can weigh several pounds, are very common. Red-tails are often seen watching for a passing meal from power poles, buildings and fences. We see them every day at close range.



In all there are numerous species of raptors and owls in Michigan to keep their fans busy watching including Bald Eagles, Osprey and Harriers

Dr. Mordrid

[KvHagedorn]

Birds of prey are so beautiful.

Yes, they are.. but keep your cats inside.

[gt40]

you can watch some real bald eagles hatching here

[Brian Ellis]

This is my best raptor photo, a Common Buzzard, Buteo buteo.

[gt40]

somewhere, I've got a photo of a snowy owl in my back yard - only seen it once though.

[Jon P. Inghram]

This is my best raptor photo, a Common Buzzard, Buteo buteo.

No, that's a hawk. This is a buzzard:

[gt40]

This is a buzzard:

How did you get a picture of my mother in law????

[Jon P. Inghram]

Google image search, you can find anything there!

It's pretty funny how scrambled up the common names for some new world birds ended up, with vultures often being called buzzards even though they are completely different than the old world birds called buzzards, which of course in the new world are called hawks along with a whole slew of other unrelated birds of prey, like the Marsh Hawk (Northern Harrier,) Sparrow Hawk (American Kestrel,) or the Duck Hawk (Peregrine Falcon.)

[Dr Mordrid]

Falcon: Any of various birds of prey of the family Falconidae and especially of the genus Falco, having a short, curved beak and long, pointed, powerful wings adapted for swift flight.

Hawk: Falconiformes, esp. of the genera Accipiter and Buteo, characteristically having a short hooked bill and strong claws adapted for seizing.

Vulture: Any of various large birds of prey of the New World family Cathartidae or of the Old World family Accipitridae, characteristically having dark plumage and a featherless head and neck and generally feeding on carrion.

Buzzard: 1. Any of various North American vultures, such as the turkey vulture.
2. Chiefly British A hawk of the genus Buteo, having broad wings and a broad tail.

Dr. Mordrid

[Brian Ellis]

The difference is not just with raptors. The Robin, throughout Europe, is a sparrow sized bird, 14 cm long, Erithacus rubecula, very much an aggressive loner except when mating. In N. America, the Robin is a thrush-sized songbird, Turdus migratorius, about 25 cm long - in fact, it is a thrush, as the Latin name indicates.

The attached photo shows a mating pair of Erithacus (this photo was taken by a friend of mine and is a rarity as they are very retiring when mating and are never seen in pairs at any other time).

The Blackbird in Europe is a black, yellow-billed, (cock) thrush Turdus merula whereas, in N. America, there are a number of birds, mainly of the Euphagus and Agelaius families, that are called Blackbird.

There are numerous other examples of the same common name being applied to totally different birds in different parts of the world. And I can assure you that Buteo buteo is the Common Buzzard.