While standing in my yard one day in January, I heard a crazy loud sound. It was a screeching, and yet sounded more metallic than avian. It was two different sounds, but I have not heard it before. One was repetitive and unrelenting, and the other was random and piercing.

Wow! What a photo op! Two raptors fighting for a dove just outside my walls. An athlete, or better photographer, or both, would have leaped over our wall in a single bound, or scrambled over our gate with the sharp bars. I am clearly not that athletic or talented, because I could only get to a 5 inch gap with my camera for a visual. No wiggle room! If only I had a few inches to the left or right.....but no.......all the action happened as I was stuck with a palo verde tree right in my line of sight! This is why I will never be a truly great photographer. So, the photos are instead featured in my blog of "almost, but not quite" great.

The ferruginous hawk had already nabbed the dove when I saw it....well, I could see most of it. The first photo of the wings emerging from a tree trunk, is in fact, said bird. It had it's wings extended to surround it's prize in an attempt to protect it from the dive bombing harris hawks-- of which there were 4! They swooped and challenged repeatedly, with acrobatic and vocal bravado. (Always with a tree or cactus between them and me...aaagghhh!)

The wolf pack of the skies eventually prevailed and stole the dove. In the last interactive photo, the dove is in the Harris hawk's talons and the ferruginous hawk is giving chase.... a futile protest. 

The ferruginous hawk returned several times to pick at the scraps, but kept looking over its shoulder like any other typical paranoid victim.  Ferruginous Hawk and Harris Hawk fight for dove