I just observed something strange

[JOHNNY QUEST]

I was on the porch admirein my garden when I heard a comotion up in the sky... It seem there were 5 grackles harrassing this red tailed hawk.. they were dive bombing him and chasein him all over.. I don't know why he didn't exert his dominance and just kick thier arse.. He was 3 times as big as them and they were runnin circles around him as he tried to escape... It was wierd.. I would have thought that a bird of prey would be more dominate than that... 3 of the grackles left and he was still runnin from the other 2.. I watched till they were beyond the tree's and have no clue what it was all about... Mabey he robbed a nest and they ganged up on him , but I still don't understand how a bird with a 3 foot wingspan would be afraid of a few grackles...

[lil'feeby]

to get injured in the wild is almost always a death sentence for a predator like a hawk, so they would rather run than attack, unless it is for food.

[airiscool]

We see Redtails getting chaised alot here, mostly by Crows. And Crows being chaised by smaller birds.

I have seen  Redtails fight off the Crows. They will let a Crow dive on them, then as the Crow goes by overhead the Redtail will instantly flip upside down and try to rake the Crow's belley with it's claws as it passes. After a couple of those the Crows stayed away.

Paul.

[lil'feeby]

i have seen on two occasions, a redtail take a dove the impact sounded like someone shot the dove, an awesome sight.

[djmyers]

I see that about once a week here. ANother reason to blast the grackles when they are on the feeder I say!

[Wade.S]

I have seen that many times with the smaller bird, even a single smaller bird attacking the larger bird. I think they do this to protect there nests. I think it is possible as the smaller bird is just quicker that the larger bird.

[jake]

hmm, thats strange, maybe he was just having a bad day and didnt feel like bothering with them, hehe.

[daveshoot]

It's very common here. The smaller birds are nesting, especially this time of year, and have eggs or hatchlings in the area. Crows and hawks are on the prowl for them.

The little birds can outmaneuver the big ones in the air, and even just 1 can make life hard fora cruising hawk or crow. Hawks are powerful against the unsuspecting, but up close the little birds run circles around them.

[gamo2hammerli]

Yup...small birds are alot quicker.  I`ve seen quite a few times Crows being chased by 2 Starlings or 2 Grackles.  And Grackles being chased by Starlings.  One on one...the smaller birds probably wouldn`t dare....but if they gang up....they can protect their younglings and nests.