This may be a naive question, but why don’t the large number of Red-tailed Hawks (15-60+), which keep vigil at the Ring-necked Pheasant pens on Game Farm Road in Ithaca, decimate the pheasant population? According to the BNA, Ring-necked Pheasant is one of their preferred foods and I've seen them eating what looks pheasant entrails within the pens.
Candace Cornell -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --