Reply #110: I was told by a birdwatcher once that little birds

[arikara]

always make a big racket whenever the raptors are around because its warning to other birds, and they want to let the hawk know that the little guys are aware that he is there and can't sneak up on them.

I once saw a big bald eagle eating the baby crows right out of their nest with about 50 adults swooping around screaming and dive bombing it. The eagle totally ignored the crows, finished its breakfast and glided away with a huge stream of crows chasing after him. After, the crows came back to the tree and held a powwow for awhile, making a terrible din then suddenly most flew off in every direction leaving only 2 - probably the parents- still sitting on the tree. This happened in my neighbor's yard right in the middle of the city, the racket woke me up and I got up to see what was going on. It was horrible, yet one of the fascinating things I've ever seen.