Friday, March 27, 2015

Where Did Everyone Go?


It's not unusual for us to see raptors buzzing the deck with a resultant mad scramble of birds on the feeders heading to cover. We don't usually get to see the hawk or falcon, just the scattering prey. I don't know much about the raptors' success rate, but there is currently a pile of feathers on the ground just east of the deck that is evidence of the murder of a Eurasian Collared Dove.

But we've never seen one land to look around like this Sharp-shinned Hawk did last month. Maybe just casing the joint.

1 comment:

Guy Boyd said...

Reid, keep an eye on that little hawk! Twice I have seen a sharp-shin dash toward a flock of sparrows only to land on a nearby fence post and relax for several minutes, even pull up a foot and fluff out. Then it would fly to the ground at the base of the bush where the sparrows put in and WALK into the bush and, both times, emerge with a sparrow. And, neither time did any sparrows flush during the whole episode. I wonder if there's some kind of hypnotism going on!
-Guy