Every day I cross the bridge over the Missouri River as going to work in Jefferson City. Much of the year those crossings are in daylight so I can see the pigeons that live on the bridge flying about. The number of pigeons there is in the hundreds if not pushing 1,000. As I get closer to where I actually work, which is a research farm, I pass a couple feedlots that also support a couple hundred pigeons each. I seldom see hawks going after the flocks was they reel around the main structures like silos and the bridge but I do see them more occasionally go after pigeons that are on the ground foraging. I do see the hawks hunt successfully around the structures but they seem to be catching songbirds more.
Today in one trip I saw one Coopers Hawk going after birds on bridge and three Coopers Hawks going after birds on research farm at same time although they were not working together on same flocks. Things got so dicey that an American Kestrel was flying with pigeons, killdeer and water birds in what I am guessing was an attempt to avoid the Coopers Hawk that appeared to catch all the smaller birds in a surprise. It was amazing to see so many types of birds wheeling about such a small number of hawks. The number of birds at the farm in total where easily in the thousands. The pigeons seem to be caught less than what you would predict based upon their relative abundance alone. Those that are caught that I see are captured either in buildings or very close to there nest sites. Pigeons it seems have upper hand with Coopers Hawks once they are out in open and able to get up speed. Exception for pigeons maybe with the bigger individuals that I think are meat birds of some sort. They fly much slower and do not participate in the group maneuvers the other pigeons and even songbirds do.
Today in one trip I saw one Coopers Hawk going after birds on bridge and three Coopers Hawks going after birds on research farm at same time although they were not working together on same flocks. Things got so dicey that an American Kestrel was flying with pigeons, killdeer and water birds in what I am guessing was an attempt to avoid the Coopers Hawk that appeared to catch all the smaller birds in a surprise. It was amazing to see so many types of birds wheeling about such a small number of hawks. The number of birds at the farm in total where easily in the thousands. The pigeons seem to be caught less than what you would predict based upon their relative abundance alone. Those that are caught that I see are captured either in buildings or very close to there nest sites. Pigeons it seems have upper hand with Coopers Hawks once they are out in open and able to get up speed. Exception for pigeons maybe with the bigger individuals that I think are meat birds of some sort. They fly much slower and do not participate in the group maneuvers the other pigeons and even songbirds do.
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