Peregrine takes a goose on 2/6/16

[gemiller]

It's probably safe to say if you were out hawking today, Johns day outdid yours (no offense of course!). Johns 860g peregrine took a 4200g goose out of the air from a stoop initiated out of a low soar of a few hundred feet while at our hunting circles Cave Meet.

The geese made the flush of a creek hollow and the bird took from the soar, gave the goose a whack that slowed it down, crossed up and gained some height into the headwind crossed across the neck and it fell from the air.

After it fell the bird prepped for one last incoming finisher (the series caught on camera below). If you look close on the picture of him coming in for the final dispatch it appears the neck was broke from the strike that dropped it from the air. Not only did the bird put on the flight of a lifetime, it did so in front of 13 people in plain view for everyone to see. What a day! I think the smile on his face in the last picture will be stuck for a while.

[OATS]

Hi Greg, that's quite an ambitious kill for any raptor to make let alone a 30oz peregrine. I disagree about the broken neck though. Having hunted Canada's for quite a few seasons with both short and longwings, I have seen that posture many times. That kinked neck in the third photo is the goose standing in it's threat pose. I suspect the goose was stunned with the initial hit and knew it was out matched in the air so it took to the ground where they do their best fighting. They assume that same pose if you walk up on a pair with goslings also. Nice kill, that's the big game hunting of falconry. Glad the falcon came out unscathed.

[Ducksanddogs]

We call it Z-necking in the gun hunting world and you can actually buy decoys making that pose.

[gemiller]

Never been a waterfowl hunter so that's something I've never seen. Having not been around any goose hunters I didn't even know that was a thing. It certainly makes sense. Thankfully it was dazed enough it really didn't fight much on the ground. It kind of fell out of the sky like a sack of potatoes on the strike before the final. The pictures don't do much justice for the impact speed of that final hit either though. It was an amazing flight to see first hand, that's for sure.

[Ducksanddogs]

Regardless of whether the neck was broken, it seems like it was an amazing sight and couldn't have happened at a better time. I'm certainly jealous.

[Breeze]

Absolutely awesome!