[TN-Bird] Re: Carrion-feeding Redtail?
- From: alixparks@xxxxxxxxxxx
- To: sunfish0501@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 3 Dec 2011 04:41:05 +0000 (UTC)
I am a raptor rehabilitator in Signal Mountain, TN & I believe that it's normal
& probably quite common in the wild for RTHAs to dine on carrion. Red Taileds
are opportunists with insatiable appetites & a dead deer or large fish would be
a delicious & easy-depending on the competition from the vultures-meal. In
captivity I feed them fresh (frozen first to kill parasites) thawed road kills
& rats, mice & day old chicks & quail. I received a call just yesterday from a
warehouse manager about a RTHA that had flown into their building in S.
Pittsburg, TN. It seems that the bird had been feeding on a carcass with a
large group of vultures & was frightened by one of the workers who was
encouraging them to depart the area.
Warm regards,
Alix Parks Signal Mountain
Hamilton Co.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rick Phillips" <sunfish0501@xxxxxxxxx>
To: David-Aborn@xxxxxxx
Cc: "TN-birds Birds" <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, December 2, 2011 12:07:20 PM
Subject: [TN-Bird] Re: Carrion-feeding Redtail?
I once photographed a Red-shouldered Hawk eating canned cat food. This was in
an area at the end of a dead-end road where someone had been scattering seed
for the birds daily along the pavement. I suppose the feral cats were attracted
to all the birds, then some "kind soul" started feeding the cats catfood every
day as well. I had seen the hawk hunting this spot a number of times so I
decided to park my car nearby to use as a blind to try to get some photos.
While I was doing this the hawk flew down where a can of cat food had been
dumped and started eating it! I was so surprised I almost forgot to take any
pictures!
On Fri, Dec 2, 2011 at 11:56 AM, Aborn, David < David-Aborn@xxxxxxx > wrote:
2 December 2011
Many hawks will eat carrion if the opportunity presents itself, so a red-tail
feeding on road-kill is not unusual. I am even aware of one published note from
the 1980's of an Osprey eating a road-kill squirrel!
David Aborn
Chattanooga, TN
-----Original Message-----
From: tn-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto: tn-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ] On
Behalf Of Bill Pulliam
Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2011 12:47 PM
To: TN-birds Birds
Subject: [TN-Bird] Carrion-feeding Redtail?
Yesterday afternoon (11/20/2011) I came upon a group of Turkey Vultures on the
ground right beside the road near our place in western Lewis County. In with
them was an adult Red-tailed Hawk, also on the ground. This made me curious so
I stopped to see what had drawn them. It appeared that a dumped deer carcass
was the only attraction in the area; there was no sign of any live or smaller
prey that might have drawn the Redtail in.
This morning, just down the slope, a group of 23 Turkey Vultures had been
attracted to a dead carp on the shore of the neighbor's pond.
Again there was an adult Red-tailed Hawk (probably the same bird; this was only
about 200m from the deer carcass) with the group, though not actually on the
ground with the carcass.
Is carrion feeding a normal behavior among Red-tails? I don't recall having
seen it before. I did not actually see the hawk actively feeding on the
carcasses, but the circumstances were highly suggestive.
Bill Pulliam
Hohenwald TN
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_____________________________________________________________
NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER
The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with
first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation.
You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds
you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should
appear in the first paragraph.
_____________________________________________________________
To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx .
_____________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, send email to:
tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
______________________________________________________________
TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society
Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
endorse the views or opinions expressed
by the members of this discussion group.
Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
------------------------------
Assistant Moderator Andy Jones
Cleveland, OH
-------------------------------
Assistant Moderator Dave Worley
Rosedale, VA
--------------------------------
Assistant Moderator Chris O'Bryan
Clemson, SC
__________________________________________________________
Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ARCHIVES
TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/
MAP RESOURCES
Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif
Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com
_____________________________________________________________
--
Rick Phillips
Kingsport, Tennessee
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