A rather the small hawk has taken to calling our small feeding birds, “Lunch.” It has been here before. I saw it take a small bird early last week and then spotted it again as it swooped past last Thursday. Saturday I spotted it perched on a branch on the other side of the yard as it waited for some small bird to come to the feeders but it flew off just as I got the digiscope set to take a picture. Today, when I got back from Princeton, I noticed there were no birds at the feeders—which wasn’t really surprising since I wasn’t here to put seed out this morning. But then I saw him—sitting pretty as you please in the sunlight directly above the feeders on the side of the house. I set the scope up inside the house, not wanting to spook him from his perch by opening the sliding door and snapped one picture after another through the glass f the door. There’s some fuzziness to the pictures despite my toying with the focus on the scope as I snapped shots. I think it may have been caused by shooting through two panes of glass at an angle.
Last summer we had one that chased several birdsin what could have been described as an aerial dogfight. The prey trying desperately to get away would dart in every direction with the small hawk duplicating its every move. Twice I saw such action end in puffs of loose feathers as dinner was captures. Only once did I see the prey escape in the branches of a pine.
Sharp-shinned HawkAnd more
here.
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