Circle with Falcons?

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http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/raptorforce/video.html

couple pretty awesome clips of Falcons diving to catch prey. One shot
is from a mini camera mounted on its back. pretty amazing.

[Frank Whiteley]

On Feb 18, 10:19 pm, wrote:
> http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/raptorforce/video.html
>
> couple pretty awesome clips of Falcons diving to catch prey. One shot
> is from a mini camera mounted on its back. pretty amazing.

Hope many in the US were able to watch it this evening.

Frank

[Wayne Paul]

I watched this show on Idaho Public Television a little over an hour ago.
Great footage; however, the major emphasis was on maneuverability. There
were a couple good clips on dynamic soaring.

The raptor camera footage did not come close to the quality of last summer's
camera equipped golden eagles flying over Scotland.

Wayne
http://www.soaridaho.com/


> wrote in message
oups.com...
> http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/raptorforce/video.html
>
> couple pretty awesome clips of Falcons diving to catch prey. One shot
> is from a mini camera mounted on its back. pretty amazing.
>

[Wayne Paul]

"Wayne Paul" > wrote in message
...
>I watched this show on Idaho Public Television a little over an hour ago.
>Great footage; however, the major emphasis was on maneuverability. There
>were a couple good clips on dynamic soaring.
>
> The raptor camera footage did not come close to the quality of last
> summer's camera equipped golden eagles flying over Scotland.
>

Here are 6 clips of a golden eagle flying in Scotland.
http://tinyurl.com/gap9x

Wayne
http://www.soaridaho.com/

[Sally W]

At 05:24 19 February 2007, wrote:
>http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/raptorforce/video.html
>
>couple pretty awesome clips of Falcons diving to catch
>prey. One shot
>is from a mini camera mounted on its back. pretty
>amazing.
>
>

There was a TV program in the UK about the ultimate
avian predators which finished with the Peregrine falcon,
and some fantastic footage of one following down the
presenter who had made a tandem parachute jump from
a balloon - at 150mph or more it was simply toying
with the lure it was flying to. However I've also
seen footage of them hunting pigeons, and they certainly
don't always get their bird.

[Andy[_1_]]

On Feb 19, 1:48 am, Sally W >
wrote:
> At 05:24 19 February 2007, wrote:
>
> >http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/raptorforce/video.html
>
> >couple pretty awesome clips of Falcons diving to catch
> >prey. One shot
> >is from a mini camera mounted on its back. pretty
> >amazing.
>
> There was a TV program in the UK about the ultimate
> avian predators which finished with the Peregrine falcon,
> and some fantastic footage of one following down the
> presenter who had made a tandem parachute jump from
> a balloon - at 150mph or more it was simply toying
> with the lure it was flying to. However I've also
> seen footage of them hunting pigeons, and they certainly
> don't always get their bird.

[ContestID67]

I was amazed at the Kestrel which dives on its prey at 200+ mph and,
even more amazingly, does a 20g pull out.

There was also a discussion on how the bird breaths at that speed. If
you look at it's nostrils there is a small central bony protuberance
to solve this problem which seems to have been used to solve the same
problem in jet fighters.

- John

[Andy[_1_]]

On Feb 19, 1:48 am, Sally W >
wrote:
> and some fantastic footage of one following down the
> presenter who had made a tandem parachute jump from
> a balloon - at 150mph or more

I'd be amazed by that too. Did they forget to deploy the drogue
chute?

Andy

[Wayne Paul]

"ContestID67" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>I was amazed at the Kestrel which dives on its prey at 200+ mph and,
> even more amazingly, does a 20g pull out.
>
> There was also a discussion on how the bird breaths at that speed. If
> you look at it's nostrils there is a small central bony protuberance
> to solve this problem which seems to have been used to solve the same
> problem in jet fighters.
>

John,

The Kestrel is the little bird that hovers. The Peregrine Falcon is the one
the does the high speed dive with up to a 20G recovery.

Boise Idaho is where the World Center for Birds of Prey (Peregrine Fund) is
located. (http://www.peregrinefund.org/default.asp) It is worth stopping for
a visit if you happen to be in the area. You may also want the visit the
largest nesting population for Prairie Falcon in the U.S. located in the
Snake River Canyon a few miles south of town.

All these birds are amazing!

Wayne
http://www.soaridaho.com

[Sally W]

At 19:54 19 February 2007, Andy wrote:
>On Feb 19, 1:48 am, Sally W
>wrote:
>> and some fantastic footage of one following down the
>> presenter who had made a tandem parachute jump from
>> a balloon - at 150mph or more
>
>I'd be amazed by that too. Did they forget to deploy
>the drogue
>chute?
>

No, two people jumping in tandem have a higher terminal
velocity than one on their own though I might have
the wrong speed. The instructor most certainly *did*
pull the rip-cord - this was not a static line jump
and they did land safely!

[Andy[_1_]]

On Feb 19, 3:28 pm, Sally W >
wrote:
> At 19:54 19 February 2007, Andy wrote:
>
> >On Feb 19, 1:48 am, Sally W
> >wrote:
> >> and some fantastic footage of one following down the
> >> presenter who had made a tandem parachute jump from
> >> a balloon - at 150mph or more
>
> >I'd be amazed by that too. Did they forget to deploy
> >the drogue
> >chute?
>
> No, two people jumping in tandem have a higher terminal
> velocity than one on their own though I might have
> the wrong speed. The instructor most certainly *did*
> pull the rip-cord - this was not a static line jump
> and they did land safely!

Two in tandem would fall faster than one.That's why a tandem has a
drogue that's deployed immediately after leaving the airplane. I
imagine the drogue deploy could be delayed from a balloon but I never
jumped balloons (yet). With the drogue out a tandem has a similar fall
speed to a solo jumper. Approx 115mph I think.

Anyway, I didn't mean to detract from the story. Jumping with a
trained Hawk would be quite a thrill!

Andy

[Tuno]

183 mph for this falcon, which chases a skydiver:

http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/animals/video/falcon_peregrine_velocity.html

[Sally W]

At 00:24 20 February 2007, Tuno wrote:
>183 mph for this falcon, which chases a skydiver:
>
>http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/animals/video/falcon_peregrine_
>>velocity.html
>
>
At the end of that wonderful clip, they say she (the
falcon) was clocked a week later at 242mph! Dunno
if female falcons are faster than males - they are
certainly larger. What a trace that must be! Thanks
for posting the URL, it was well worth gritting my
teeth through the advert at the beginning.

[Rodger R[_2_]]

On Feb 18, 9:19 pm, wrote:
> http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/raptorforce/video.html
>
> couple pretty awesome clips of Falcons diving to catch prey. One shot
> is from a mini camera mounted on its back. pretty amazing.

I had a humorous encounter with a falcon while flying my hang glider
south of San Francisco along the ocean. While working a ridge at abut
800 feet AGL I had a falcon below and out in front of the ridge that
was hovering in the lift and screeching at every other bird that flew
buy. This section of the coast has a fairly constant stream of
seagulls and pelicans that pass through. I slowly flew up behind the
falcon and when I was directly behind it rotated its head 180 degrees
and laid it along its back. It looked directly at me raised one talon.
I got the message, backed off and want on my way. The falcon kept on
screeching at every thing that passed through.

Rodger R

Pescadero , CA