Birds of Prey

Trish Nixon and Chance
The Peregrine Fund

Click on thumbnails to view an enlarged image.

Meet Chance

Trish Nixon has been training this red tailed hawk "Chance" for the past several months. Predatory birds can live about twice as long (up to 50 years!) in captivity than they do in the wild. He is only 2 3/4 lbs but this powerful creature has the ability to crush another animal. red tailed hawks like to chase and eat rabbits, ground squirrels, snakes, and small rodents but would rather eat a dead deer. A 4 lb rabbit is the biggest prey that he would be able to carry. If he gets a rabbit, he will not have to hunt for another 2-3 days. There are five species of red tail hawks in the United States, but not all of them have red tails. These predators put 70-80 lbs/in² on the prey that they catch. This amount of pressure can crush the prey in their talons. Birds of prey have knobby things on their talons to protect them from any animals they catch, which don't die immediately and can bite back. Your thumbnails and fingernails protect your fingertips just like the knobby things protect the birds' talons.

Each bird of prey is unique and has its own special area and prey. Trish compares the males of the predator world to a Porsche or Corvette because they can maneuver rapidly for hunting. Males can also fly longer distances to hunt without burning so much energy. Female birds of prey are bigger than the males. Females have to produce eggs and defend their nests. Females are also more successful in carrying larger weights. Birds of prey do not preen each other like some other animals do.

The bird of prey eats everything they catch, including the meat, skull, feathers, and crushed bones. A bird of prey can even digest the bones of a rabbit. About 16 hours after eating, the bird of prey will cough up what it couldn't digest. In Mongolia they use birds of prey to hunt wolves because birds of prey have beaks strong enough to crush the muzzle of a wolf.

The Peregrine Falcon is a bird built to kill other birds. Peregrine falcons start their hunt a mile up in the sky then go into a high-speed dive, being clocked at 140 mph. Peregrines can actually eat another bird while they are flying in the air. If they kill a larger bird, they will allow them to fall to the ground where they will tear it into smaller pieces and retreat to a tree or high place to eat in safety. Due to recovery efforts, the peregrine falcon came off of the endangered species list in 1999.

The Birds of Prey Foundation has recently taken on the task to help with the reintroduction of the California Condor. This giant bird is close to extinction but Birds of Prey believe they can help reestablish this bird.

There are birds of prey throughout the entire world. The Harpy Eagle lives in the rain forest. It catches monkeys and sloths, using its beak to break their skulls.

Birds of prey hunt many different animals including fish, rabbits, ground squirrels, and even snakes. They have no feathers on their legs and have feet called Talons. Their feet are so rough that they have been compared to Velcro. Golden eagles, on the other hand, do have feathers that go all the way down over the talons. Though their talons are sort of rough, they do not have the same Velcro feeling that a red tailed hawk's do. They also have more powerful talons (300-400 lbs/in².)

What else helps a raptor hunt?

Raptors have highly evolved eyes, which they use like hunting sights, called binocular vision. This red tailed hawk can see 6 times better then we can. He is always looking around because there are bigger birds of prey, which may try to eat him. Chance however cannot move his eyes like we can, but he has twice as many vertebra in his neck so he can turn his head 270 ^o around. Chance also has a powerful beak, which he can use to tear and eat his prey.

Birds of prey are a necessary and beautiful part of the environment. Without them other creatures such as squirrels and rodents would overpopulate.

To learn more about the The Peregrine Fund, World Center of Birds of Prey, Click Here

The Owyhee Watershed Council's educational activities are supported by the
Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board.

For further information please contact:
Jennifer Martin
Owyhee Watershed Coordinator
(541) 889-2588.

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