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How a hawk learned to use traffic signals to hunt more successfully
111–120 of 153 posts
Re: How a hawk learned to use traffic signals to hunt more successfully
#112> Cooper’s hawk is on a rather short list of bird of prey species that have successfully adapted to life in cities. A city is a difficult and very dangerous habitat for any bird, but particularly for a large raptor specializing in live prey: you have to avoid windows, cars, utility wires, and countless other dangers while catching something to eat every day. Peregrine falcons adapted quite well, and they're much more…
There are Peregrine falcons in my city. I remember walking downtown one time and seeing one on the sidewalk with a pigeon in its talons. All the commuters and I just walked around it. Really weird somehow.
Melbourne, Australia has a family of falcons living on the roof of 367 Collins St in the CBD. You can find some of the falcon cam footage on YouTube.
Re: How a hawk learned to use traffic signals to hunt more successfully
#113> Cooper’s hawk is on a rather short list of bird of prey species that have successfully adapted to life in cities. A city is a difficult and very dangerous habitat for any bird, but particularly for a large raptor specializing in live prey: you have to avoid windows, cars, utility wires, and countless other dangers while catching something to eat every day. Peregrine falcons adapted quite well, and they're much more…
Live stream of Peregrine Falcon nest at the top of Sagrada Familia in Barcelona:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=TMRRsBh5GDI
I spend too much time on this...
Re: How a hawk learned to use traffic signals to hunt more successfully
#114I have a similar story. I was taxiing a Cessna 152 at LHBS. It is a big grassy field. On that day there were a large flock of black birds sitting on the grass. I made the usual radio call to announce that I'm leaving the runway and taxiing to the tie-downs when the birds flitted away just between my airplane's nose and my destination. The birds outside of that "road" by roughly a wingspan distance remained on the gro…
I'm not an ornithologist but I think birds integrate some onboard magnetic compass sensors. So, it would be interesting if they can pick up the magnetic part of an electromagnetic wave of the radio. Seems very low likelihood but would be cool. Edit to add https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/08/230828130356.h... . What frequency were you at? Seems they may actually be listening.
Probably 124.510 Mhz. That is the current airport frequency there and it is unlikely to have changed since.
Very cool article. But it sounds like that would be out of the likely range?
Re: How a hawk learned to use traffic signals to hunt more successfully
#115What a clever Cooper's hawk! It is adapting to urban life and has learned to make use of the available conditions to make it easier to find food. Doesn’t this also prove that the environment can change both humans and animals? "Survival of the fittest" is probably what this means.
Re: How a hawk learned to use traffic signals to hunt more successfully
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
I see pigeons and sparrows dodge cars by inches, too. For that matter I do the same myself! Sparrows hawk insects out of the air, and I believe starlings also. Predicting motion would need to be second nature, I think. Like skillfully catching a ball, but much more so and between your teeth...
Well, there is survivor bias there, of course; you don't see the ones that didn't learn to dodge...
If your engine is hot enough - just scrape them off the grill while at your destination and sauce them.
Re: How a hawk learned to use traffic signals to hunt more successfully
#117Wow... It's not just that the hawk figured out a clever hunting tactic, it's how it did it: linking an auditory cue (the pedestrian signal) with a future visual scenario (a longer car line) and then using that cover to hunt. That's a level of abstraction and planning you don't usually associate with birds
Re: How a hawk learned to use traffic signals to hunt more successfully
#118I have a similar story. I was taxiing a Cessna 152 at LHBS. It is a big grassy field. On that day there were a large flock of black birds sitting on the grass. I made the usual radio call to announce that I'm leaving the runway and taxiing to the tie-downs when the birds flitted away just between my airplane's nose and my destination. The birds outside of that "road" by roughly a wingspan distance remained on the gro…
Birds are surprisingly good at recognizing patterns
Re: How a hawk learned to use traffic signals to hunt more successfully
#119Wow... It's not just that the hawk figured out a clever hunting tactic, it's how it did it: linking an auditory cue (the pedestrian signal) with a future visual scenario (a longer car line) and then using that cover to hunt. That's a level of abstraction and planning you don't usually associate with birds
You do associate those traits with birds in the raven family.
I figure the usual association with birds or perhaps animals in general is still mostly based on ‘humans smart; animals dumb’ instead of actual research.
Re: How a hawk learned to use traffic signals to hunt more successfully
#120I once wrote a personal’s ad in SQL on Craigslist, back when they had that section. A DBA replied and asked if I wanted hawking. She had a Cooper’s hawk. I met her at a commercial park in a Saturday morning. She was driving a Honda CRV, the hawk was in the front passenger seat, and I hopped into the back seat. She started driving and spotted some crows. The hawk saw them as well. Wearing a “don’t kill me either your…
This is one of those stories that just keeps escalating into "am I in a dream or a side quest?" territory... Also, "sushi you’d order from KFC" is going to haunt me