[mou] Why crows hate Red-tails - the rest of the story

[Alt, Mark]

So here I am sitting at my desk in Richfield, working away -  peripheral
vision picks up a figure moving quickly by the window I face.  I grab my
binos and am immediately watching a Red-tail in a half closed wing stoop
of about a 30 degree angle.  The bird closed its wings more (3/4?),
picked up speed, dropped more steeply, and I saw the target of the stoop
come into view -  a group of 4 crows on the ground in an apartment
parking lot. I estimate the Hawk was going about 40 mph, about 8 seconds
had gone by.. The crows leapt straight up when the Hawk was about 30
feet away, scattering in flight, and the Hawk missed its pass. The crows
climbed frantically and when 30 feet high went into counterattack.  The
Hawk wheeled and fled at low altitude, at half the speed of its
approach, making a direct line for the top of a Best Buy tower. The
crows pursued but never made any passes at the Hawk. This is the first
time I had seen a Red-tail go for Crow for a meal.  I had assumed Crow
attacks were territorial to protect nesting and young birds, but now I
suddenly realize the Crow's position in the food chain.  I guess Hawks
are lucky rabbits don't fly, at least outside of Monty Python movies.
Good Birding.

Mark Alt
Brooklyn Center, MN