Eight days ago I posted three photos, pretty much picked at random, of a “small songbird” attacking an adult Red-tailed Hawk in flight in the west desert. Their aerial dogfight lasted for nearly eight minutes as both birds repeatedly circled overhead so you can imagine how many photos I took. Hundreds. I don’t think those three original photos told the story very well so today I’m going to try again, using nine photos (including one of the original three) and a little more detailed narrative.
The small songbird, which I originally couldn’t positively ID, turned out to be a really pissed off female Brewer’s Blackbird (thanks to Dan Gleason and others for the ID help). All photos are presented in the order they were taken.
It all began when this male (I believe, based on size) adult Red-tailed Hawk took off from a utility pole in front of me. The female Brewer’s took up the chase almost immediately and the hawk wasn’t happy about being pursued. He was screaming intermittently for the entire eight minutes of the attack.
I was shooting out my pickup window which meant that I could only take photos when they were on the west side of the road, so I heard a lot of screaming when I couldn’t actually see what was going on. The blackbird repeatedly swooped in and “tagged”, or attempted to tag, the hawk.
I only captured her making contact one time. This is one of the three photos I posted eight days ago.
After each attack she would make her getaway quickly, usually by rising swiftly upward. She seemed to instinctively know that the much larger hawk couldn’t match that maneuver.
They didn’t always circle counterclockwise. The escape maneuvers made by the hawk sometimes resulted in clockwise circling.
Sometimes they dropped low enough to get nearby mountains in the background, which made getting sharp focus on them more difficult for me. Here she’s assumed a bullet shape for speed just prior to…
another close-quarters attack. If she didn’t actually strike the hawk, she came very close.
Once again she used her superior maneuverability to her advantage. A split second after making contact, or nearly doing so, she’d risen out of the hawk’s range before he could even react. All he could do was endure her attacks and hope she’d eventually give up.
In this last shot the blackbird is out of frame to the right but his continued screaming indicates that she was still in pursuit.
When the blackbird finally gave up, the hawk landed on a utility pole down the line. And I drove on down the road to look for other birds. I’m sure the entire episode was a lot more fun for me than it was for the poor red-tail.
Ron
Fascinating! Love your photos.
Thank you, for referring me to the earlier post, I missed that day.
Take Care,
Kaye
You’re welcome. I figured you’d missed it.
I, too, was thinking aerial dogfight. The post the other day was neat, but this one really puts us there. Thanks so much for the added photos and commentary!
“I, too, was thinking aerial dogfight.”
Ha, she’s a female, feathered version of Baron von Richthofen. Thanks, Carolyn.
Looking again at this dogfight, in both #6 and #8, their bodies are almost exactly parallel to each other – #8 is more precise, but #6 is close. How neat is that!!
STILL no follow up comments. Hiss and spit.
That is one seriously pissed off small bird. Who has my sympathies. I am glad to see the little guy/gal triumph for a change. And wonder whether the red-tail vented his frustration on its next prey?
EC, they aren’t going to your spam folder are they? I wish I knew how to fix it.
Not going to spam. Simply not arriving.
Thank you for the redux on the Brewer’s vs. Red Tail. This series shows the intensity, tenacity, and maneuverability of the smaller bird. These shots make me think of aerial dogfights during WWI and WWII. Plus, given what Steve Creek thinks happened to the mama Eastern Bluebird in his yard, I’m glad to see the hawk foiled this time.
“I’m glad to see the hawk foiled this time.”
As you (and Steve) know, Marty – it can go either way. But usually, in these types of dogfights, no blood is spilled. Probably some bruised pride though.
Terrific series, Ron! This reminds me of the old quotation that you read in lots of conservation alerts (paraphrased): “if you think you are too small to be effective, you should try being in bed with a mosquito.”
“you should try being in bed with a mosquito.”
I’ve tried it, Ellen. More times than I care to remember. Not fun.
Excellent series Ron. I have always enjoyed watching the smaller birds chase the Hawks and Ravens who have come too close or have tried to rob their nests of chicks or eggs. They are angry and fearless as they go after the much larger and very dangerous hunters. In the 3rd shot it appears that the Brewer’s did make contact. In all the times I have seen this over so many years I don’t think I have ever seen the hawk turn around and face the pursuer.
Thanks, Everett. I don’t think there’s any question that she made contact in that third shot.
Fabulous photos. The encounter reminded me of the Plains Indians of North America “counting coup” against their enemies.
Take Care,
Kaye
Kaye, we think alike:
https://www.featheredphotography.com/blog/2024/06/24/a-small-songbird-counting-coup-on-an-adult-red-tailed-hawk/
Interesting that the blackbird seems to intuitively sense that it is
safe from its huge opponent as long as it uses its ability to maneuver
FAST. Wow– 8 minutes ! That would use up an enormous amount
of energy; I guess it must be worth it to the blackbird’s sense of
safe territory to make such an expenditure……
Kris, I couldn’t believe how long it lasted. The longest encounter like that I’ve ever experienced, that’s for sure.
🙂 Funny tho certainly not for the birds involved! “Leave me the F alone!” he seems to be screaming….. 😉 Always amazing to me how persistant the “little” birds can be.
Judy, you may be right about what he was screaming…
Great series. Are the Brewer’s Blackbirds still nesting at this point?
Cathy, based on the other two blackbird species in the area, I’d say the Brewer’s are about done raising their young. But that’s mostly a guess.
Appreciate the revisit to this one. I have seen a lot of these kinds of encounters, but I do not recall ever seeing one that lasted eight minutes. That is indeed one “really pissed off female Brewer’s Blackbird”.
Some great shots there. That 3rd and 4th are my favorites of the set.
Thanks, Michael. It’s the longest one I’ve seen too. By far.
It’s always possible that there was more than one blackbird involved and I didn’t (couldn’t) see the tradeoff.