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RE: hawk and squirrel



 John,

As a falconer, I am very amazed by your account, and I will assume that you
correctly identified the bird.  I would say that based on the toughness of
squirrel hide, that it would be very challenging for a sharpie to break into
it.  I grew up hunting and skinning squirrels.  I've seen red-tails and
Harris hawks struggle for a while with a squirrel.  I'm even amazed that the
sharpie could kill it without losing a toe.  Again, red-tails and Harris
hawks have lost toes hunting squirrels and no doubt it happens in the wild
from time to time. 

Eric Harrold
esharrol@email.uncc.edu 

-----Original Message-----
From: John.Batson@furman.edu
To: carolinabirds@duke.edu
Sent: 3/21/01 7:59 PM
Subject: hawk and squirrel

A sharpie nabbed an adult squirrel in front of the Furman University
Library at lunchtime today and generated quite some interest among
students.

After killing the squirrel just meters away from humans, it attempted to
fly off with its prey but could not get airborne.  After repeated
attempts
to leave, it ended up in a partially drained fountain that will be
cleared
of debris.  After the squirrel was soaked and the hawk "gave up" trying
to
fly away, it spent a lot of time trying to eat on the spot.   After an
hour
of watching, I left, but the bird never truly opened up the carcass, yet
would not abandon it either.

How often do sharpies go for squirrels?  And how likely is it that a
sharpie can open up a squirrel?

By the way, I found students' reactions to all this quite interesting,
but
that story is probably not appropriate for this listserv.

John Batson
Psychology Dept
Furman Univ
Greenville SC