Aerial Combat Maneuvering

OK, so this isn't really an outdoor adventure, but I have to share this story of the most amazing bird fight I saw today.

My buddy Jay and I were hanging out watching the track meet at UCLA, when along comes a soaring hawk flying by overhead. I always enjoy watching the birds, so I was checking him out, and noticed a crow was flying with him. At first I thought it was a coincidence, until I saw the crow dive-bombing and trying to attack him. The crow did this repeatedly, as the hawk did evasive maneuvers. They kept circling over the track, providing us a perfect vantage point. It was serious, like a straight up Top Gun dogfight. At one point the guy sitting in front of us, who had also noticed the action overhead, turned around and said "do you guys see this shit?!" They were engaged in a major aerial battle. This lasted a minute or two before the hawk landed in a nearby tree, at which point I figured the show was over.

Wrong. As the hawk sat in the tree, Crow-G went and gathered up his posse, and soon enough there were 3, 4, then 5 crows circling and dive-bombing the tree. The hawk took off and flew overhead again, the dogfight resuming for what must have been another 5 minutes. The only way I can describe it is to say it was exactly like the final battle scene in Top Gun, where Iceman's F-14 was surrounded by enemy MiGs:


Jester's words echoed... "The jets you're flying against are smaller, faster, and more maneuverable."

The crows kept attacking, but couldn't seem to do any damage. The hawk kept outmaneuvering the crows without ever going on the offensive.

Iceman: "Mustang this is Voodoo 1, we are totally defensive, launch the alert fighter!"

In time a couple of the crows bugged out, and it was down to 3 on 1. Unfortunately the fight moved off into the distance and we never saw the conclusion. My assumption is that it ended just like Top Gun, with another hawk coming in to save the day.

"Maverick supersonic, I'll be there in 30 seconds."

Good stuff...