IIRC, it stated the birds were FOUND on the property- not that the birds were all KILLED on the property. There is no way that 80 acre area/topography could support that many raptors. The guy had to be roaming around shooting stuff, then taking it home and throwing the carcass out on his land.

And that is the most accurate estimation of the situation yet.

Unless his property happened to be in a migration route. Raptors really have a pretty large home range unless nesting.

God Bless, Louis

Having owned and lived on 40 acres of property of similar topography in that general area, I can absolutely guarantee you that nowhere near that number of raptors lived there OR passed through there. This guy shot stuff wherever he found it and dumped the carcasses at home. Hang him high. He wasnt protecting a damn thing- just killing for the hell of it.

So one time back in the 1980s, I was at the annual Buckmaster's hunt just west of Selma. Usually each day, we got to hunt in a different spot.

One day, my "guide" drove me to a private plantation and directed me to a tree stand that overlooked a food plot. I normally get the DTs when I have to spend hours in a stand. So ....I decided to do a bit of still-hunting since I was the only one on the property.

At one point, I could see a dirt two-track through the trees. There was a post next to it with a huge Great Horned owl perched on top. I decided to try and get a photo. I took my camera out of my backpack and began stalking closer.

Suddenly the owl tried to fly off but was rudely jerked to the ground by a chain fastened to the pole. When I got closer, I could see the trap on its leg.

The owl wasn't too happy either. It spread its wings and squawked at me the closer I got.

I finally concocted a plan. I took off my jacket and approached the owl from behind as best I could. Then I threw the jacket over it and pinned it to the ground while I removed the trap. I couldn't discern any injury. After I took the jacket off it bounced around a bit, then took off flying.

Later, in my meanderings around the property, I noticed several ground feeders with bird seed in them and netting about 8 inches over them. I'm sure they were there for stocked quail.

Anyway, I had left the closed trap on the ground and never mentioned what happened to anyone.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Saeed:


Richard Parker, 67, was booked into California's Lassen County jail on multiple charges March 11, after an investigation that began with an anonymous tip about a man spotted killing a hawk, California Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a statement on its website Wednesday.

So this guy was reported Anonymously for killing a hawk. Then 135 dead birds happened to be found spread over his property.
Sounds like a bit of a put and Take plant to me. It's a wonder all these Raptors don't clear up after themselves,they certainly do on my patch.
STORIES printed in the Daily (squawk)Mail should be taken with a large pinch of salt.
Is this property holding up some development? More conspiracy theories lol.jc

Jerry: Glad you wrote that, I was going to say the same thing.

Randall:
I don't have much experience with burrowing owls except in the prairie dog areas here. We see them a lot and have to be very careful when shooting as they'll stand close to a mound pointing the p/dog for us. I've told other guys I was shooting with: "that's an owl, don't shoot it". They were using less powered glass than I use. That's a big benefit for having a high magnification glass.

Once we've been shooting awhile, the sky starts filling up with various hawks and sometimes eagles too. They'll circle around til we shoot a p/dog and then they'll fly down and start eating. Quite often they'll just land out "among 'em" and do their pointing too. I've shot some prairie dogs within 5 feet of owls and hawks. They don't show any sign of being bothered by it. Soon as a p/dog is hit, they're right on it before another bird gets to it. From what I've seen, they're fairly competitive but, I've never seen another bird attack another trying to take it's meal away. I have seen 2 or 3 fly at the same one and nearly collide a few times. Usually one will drop in and the others will flare away and "await their turn" as it seemed like.

There's lot of both types birds out here. I don't know most of the hawks apart. Some bigger than others. I do know what burrowing owl looks like as I've seen many of them with high powered glass. Don't recall seeing any closer than about 50-60 yards though.

It's amazing how smart wildlife really is.

One time I had a rancher drive up watching and said: "don't shoot, that's a hawk". "I know, I've been feeding it several times now, just watch, there's a prairie dog just to the side, birds pointing it out for me to shoot". Soon as I did, the bird hopped right on it. Rancher said: "I'll be damned, never seen that in my life" "it's common, especially with burrrowing owls". They live in the holes too. He was watching naked eye. I handed him the gun with a 20x scope. "that's amazing to see them so plain and up close you guys just keep at it and come back anytime you wish".

George