From the Sky to the Ground - Falcon vs Veteran Racing Pigeons

From the sky to the ground, watch an intense aerial battle as a wild Peregrine Falcon hunts elite, experienced racing pigeons in a high-speed pursuit. I had the females separated from the young birds and males for a few days and I was curious to see what happens if the falcon attacks them. These birds are survivors of hundreds of raptor attacks - no young birds, no easy targets. For the first 30 minutes, the falcon held back, likely intimidated by the flying style of these old veterans. But a flock of pigeons from another fancier joined them and in about a minute the falcon attacked. On the footage, you can see the split-second reflexes of these experienced pigeons: 20 out of 23 hens suddenly dodged the falcon's trajectory just before impact. The others joined them after this and started to climb. I always select for pigeons that love to fly and this might be the reason they start to climb instead of hiding at the ground level after a falcon initial attack. Another reason might be that they know often the hawk waits for them at the ground level when the falcon attacks. The video shows the peregrine falcon chasing my flock for a long time - magnificent apex predator with incredible stamina. After every missed strike, it shoots back up into the sky like a rocket. It is an elegant bird compared to the hawk that chases the pigeons all the way to the loft entrance. The chase was much longer but I kept the more interesting scenes. The pigeons were moulting but they still managed the long intense chase pretty well. With the increasing pressure from the falcon, they give up one by one but manage to escape. The most powerful birds with the highest stamina remained as a tight flock until the end when the falcon gave up and left. Those birds have the best endurance and character. The fact that between them there were also the best breeders might not be a coincidence. Nature never cheats and always wins. Most fanciers hate the falcon, but the logic is flawed. If your pigeons cannot survive an attack at home when they are rested and familiar with the area, how will they survive hundreds of attacks during long races when they are exhausted in unfamiliar territory? Fanciers often say the pigeons don’t want to fly anymore because of the attacks. I showed you the opposite. They say moulting pigeons don’t fly or are easily caught. I showed you the opposite. They say the peregrine falcon never misses. I showed you the opposite. These birds never got antibiotics in their entire life. Love nature. Observe nature. Learn from nature. Work with nature not against it. Nature never cheats and always wins. Taza43 is a granddaughter of the Ambassador. Leghorn34 also has Ambassador genetics in the mix. Wifi40 is a direct daughter of the Ambassador. Phantom73 is an inbred granddaughter of the Ambassador. Taza and Phantom are daughters of The Veteran, the old male that survived 10 winters flying by the mountains. He is still the captain of this flock and of course he is the oldest son of the Ambassador. #racingpigeons #peregrinefalcon #naturalselection