As I walked out of the house this guy landed on a lamp post.
It is a Harrier Hawk (Polyboroides typus), and further down in the post I will show you why we call him the pirate.
Every late winter season they hang around here, because there are two of them, and they sit spying on the nests that the birds build before the spring season. The hawks are very intelligent, and they can time the nest build to the birth of the babies. As soon as the babies are born, they will clear the nest out. They also know when to come into this area when the crows are absent.
Whenever the hawks get excited, their yellow faces turn a salmon pink color. I have a photo of it somewhere that I will show you in another post. All of the smaller birds in nature are scared of these hawks, and the squirrels also hide their babies. These birds can climb trees, from the ground up, and we have seen them dig in the palm trees to search for rodent and squirrel nests.
A closer look at the hawk.
As soon as he landed, the smaller birds flew away.
A guineafowl popped up on to a roof, to keep an eye on the hawk.
The hawk took off from the lamppost, but I could hear by his call that he landed down the road.
Look at the bent section of branch just below the top of the big tree, at the right-hand side.
I zoomed the hawk, and yeah it was indeed pirate, as his left eye was missing. Ten to one, a fight with a Pied crow.
There, you can see now that the eye is gone.
Thankfully he still has his right eye, and we just hope that he will not lose it.
This guineafowl came to sit on the tree at the right-hand side of the big tree, still keeping an eye on the hawk.
Two other guineafowls came to sit on a tree below the big tree.
Look how brave this guineafowl was, as it wanted a clear sight of the hawk.
So, why do you think the guineafowls were watching the hawk? The guineafowls are big birds, but their babies are not, and they cannot fly so they are easy prey for the hawk. Small puppies and kittens, playing in a backyard, are also not safe from the hawks. Strange that the crows were not around at this time, as they patrol and protect their territories throughout the day, and they will also not like that hawk to raid their nests. We have seen a harrier hawk raiding the nest of a Hadeda Ibis, and carrying its big baby in its claws. Not too far back, I did a post where a hawk lifted an adult dove off its nest, and flying away with it. Very distressing, but we understand that this is the way of nature. Such is life.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
Thank you kindly for supporting this post.
Comments (12)
What a beautiful birds you have there! They look soo unique and colorful. Thanks for sharing them.
Thank you, and glad that you liked the birds 😊
wow the Pirate Harrier is incredible, I know one that is known as a harrier but it is completely black with a white head, these birds are almost always carnivorous and where these birds perch the others fly away, something very interesting about the harrier that I know is that it can imitate the song of a hen and attract the attention of the chicks of the same hens to turn them into its prey, this is a shame and this happens a lot where I live but hey we always try to take good care of the hens, friend it is a pleasure to read your publications they are beautiful and my favorites you give everything to do your writings and I know that you are a brilliant writer, a great friend.
Thank you for the interesting comment. The Harrier Hawk here was previously known as a "Gymnogene", and I still favour the old name, as it described its athletic abilities to search for prey. We don't have any black harrier hawks here, and ours also cannot imitate the songs of hens. Interesting as I got one again today, half an hour ago. Take a look.
I will ask Mrs. Google to show me what a black harrier hawk looks like. Until then take care and thank you for the compliment about my writing skills.
!PIZZA and !LUV
Thank you, that photo is excellent; it's a fantastic bird. The harrier I was telling you about isn't very well-known, and few have witnessed its song while hunting.
Cool, and I will look into it!
😊
This bird's song is similar to that of a hen, but they are not identical; its song attracts chicks. However, they are not exactly the same. Thank you for sharing this new photo with me. The eaglet looks gorgeous in this new photo, and you can even see it cleaning its feathers. It's truly beautiful. Thank you, you're a great photographer.
Yeah, you mentioned that, and nature is amazing. The eaglet, is a harrier hawk, and I always look for a special movement to get it on camera.
Thank you
Activity in the air will start here again with arrival of some, noted a bigger bird of prey fly by yesterday unfortunately hidden from a good viewing to identify.
As luck has it you have them land then follow movement, all other birds in the valley will not be impressed, sadly smaller cats or dogs simply don't have the ability to ascertain danger from above.
Thanks for sharing a wonderful photo-story, wishing you a lovely weekend.
!LUV !PIZZA !WINEX
Oh yes, spring season is knocking on the door, and I also got a painted lady butterfly on show today. Pity that you could not get a clear view of the flying bird of prey.
They give their arrival away by small birds suddenly panicking and flying up in the air. Then it's just a matter of searching the big trees for them. A deadly silence ensues, until the predator flies away. Nothing is safe when they are around.
Glad that you liked the photo story milady, and we wish you the same for your weekend.
!PIZZA !WINEX !LUV
Heard a fish eagle this morning not much change with cold fronts moving through, should be soon as someone mentioned seeing a yellow-billed kite locally yesterday.
Garden is dancing with butterflies big and small, always a pleasure when the sun comes out and they chase each other in two's or three.
Send greetings to Marian and look after yourselves.
Ah, that fish eagle call always stirs my blood. The good thing is as soon as the breeding time arrives, I will be guided on a tour high up on the mountain, to sit and watch their nest for a whole day. Kites have not arrived here yet.
Glad that you have many butterflies, and always good for a post.
Will do, and you also take care milady.
!PIZZA
Sitting quietly somewhere watching nature, nothing beats that. Walking the garden a good ritual seeing who is passing through.
Sure thing, as that's the way to do things. Just a pity that our gardens are so small at this house, but there are ways to keep them alive with wildlife. I think that your garden is bigger than our house 😊
Garden is not too big, it's a manageable size.
New builds are small, not quite my cup of tea, same as gated communities which give people a false feeling of security.
We are open to the elements, still prefer although may have to change somewhere along the way.
Thank goodness that we are in an old build house, and it's on the outskirts of a gated community, that has 24 hr armed patrols. Nothing is safe anymore in this country, and it's not if, but when one gets burgled. Open to the elements is certainly preferable, and thankfully we are out in the open almost every day.
!PIZZA
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Come get MOONed!
Wow, this is absolutely stunning nature at its best! 😍
Thank you kindly!
Interesting to know a good lot about Hawk. Lovely photography.
Glad that you found it interesting!
!PIZZA
I admire the guineafowl's courage standing on the edge of the branch to observe the eagle. He seemed genuinely determined to protect his family.
The hawk will not attack the adult guinea fowls. Instead, the hawk only sits to see where they hide their babies. !PIZZA
I can't believe the hawk lost an eye and is still out there hunting like a pro 😳 That close-up shot is so cool but kinda intense too
Animals teach us how to cope with disabilities methinks. Glad that you liked the close up 😊
!PIZZA
Majestic hawk in a lamp post and a pirate one? It is so interesting to see articles here featuring animals. Everytime I see new look of animals, I always get excited and magical and then I'll search everything about them in the internet to know them more. You really have a keen understanding of the animals behave. You must be a good wildlife practitioner.
In order to avoid boredom by posting the same thing every day, I like to feature the different animals and landscapes that we have here in our area. A good thing is that you google the animals to learn more about them, as that breeds a good understanding of wildlife and its habits. Thank you for the compliment, but I am only a picture journalist.
!PIZZA
Wow, how cute it is sitting! 😍 It seems like it knows it's going to be the subject of a great photo! Both the color combination is very eye-catching, and the focus is very good. These photos have a good feeling. Thank you for sharing this beautiful moment.
That is a very dangerous bird, but yes, they also have their cute moments. I am happy that the photos gave you a good feeling and glad that you enjoyed the post.
!PIZZA
Thank you kindly!
It's our pleasure :)
Wow es increíble. En un principio no lo vi, tuve que mirar varias veces la foto para encontrarlo. Magistral!!!👏😉😍