The backyard has been alive with birds this winter. (I hate to think how much I have spent on bird seed.) The regulars have included House Finches, a pair of Cardinals, Nuthatches, Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Chickadees, Juncos, Blue Jays and of course, hundreds of House Sparrows. We had a flock of Red-wing Black Birds show up a few days ago and one Rusty Blackbird. You can see more Backyard Birds here.
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Coopers Hawk (click for larger image) You should have seen the birds scatter as an uninvited guest charged through the bird feeders. I saw the Coopers Hawk out of the corner of my eye as it streaked down to the deck area where we have several bird feeders. It looked like a small plane trying to make a cross-wind landing as it rotated its wings from left to right to check its speed and maneuver to the flock of feeding birds. As it raced across the deck it had turned with its belly facing the windows and wing tips nearly vertical from top to bottom and the tail fanned out twisting left to right. I could clearly see the speckling of the belly and underside of the wings as it zoomed by the windows. Talons outstretched, it shot in to an adjacent Crab Apple tree all the while twisting and rotating to avoid hitting a branch as it reached for a perching sparrow or House Finch. He missed. The birds scattered everywhere. The Coopers Hawk flew up into a large apple tree to survey the situation, head and eyes scanning constantly looking for another target. There wasn't another small bird in sight. Fortunately he sat there for about half and hour and I was able to get some photos, even though it was a bit far for my lens. You can see more Raptors here.
The backyard has been alive with birds this winter. (I hate to think how much I have spent on bird seed.) The regulars have included House Finches, a pair of Cardinals, Nuthatches, Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Chickadees, Juncos, Blue Jays and of course, hundreds of House Sparrows. We had a flock of Red-wing Black Birds show up a few days ago and one Rusty Blackbird. You can see more Backyard Birds here.
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March 2024
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