A great sequence of Chad and Chris Saladin of an attempted foodexchange at the I-480Bridge Site.
The female Maddy came in with a pigeon that she got under the bridge and it was still alive. She flew in and began biting the neck of the pigeon. Maddy was trying to deliver the bite while the prey was struggling to escape...
There was an exchange attempt, although Cahd and Chris were not quite sure if Maddy intended to do a live drop, or if she lost control and the pigeon escaped. As you can see, juvenile Ally dropped back down after inverting and getting close to taking the pigeon, then the pigeon flapped and crashed down as Ally dove down after the pigeon as it fell.
Both Ally and Maddy circled, calling and looking at the pigeon, but wouldn't come down to the ground level. Then they both flew up and perched on the bridge supports, looking down at the pigeon. So, Chad picked up the pigeon (which was now dead) and tossed it up onto the roof of a nearby green baracks building so they would have an opportunity to come and get it. They immediately took off toward the building and took turns trying to pick it up "on the fly" without landing. After a few attempts, Maddy actually did grab it, but dropped it as she cleared the building roof. And of course, Chad had to give them another chance, this time throwing it further back on the roof hoping this would encourage them to feel safer landing and securing the pigeon.
Throwing the pigeon further back worked, as Maddy flew in from the back of the building and was out of view for awhile before rising up from the building with the pigeon (so, we believe she must have landed to get it). She flew with the pigeon toward the support where Ally was perched, but instead of taking it up to the support, she flew past Ally low, went parallel with the north side of the bridge. Ally took off and came up to complete the exchange on the opposite side of the bridge (unfortunately backlit and with a telephone wire in the foreground, so no pics).
All pics are courtesy of Chris and Chad Saladin. Thanks Chris and Chad for the terrific pics!
