Saturday, December 13, 2008

Hawk in my yard yesterday



I had a hawk greet me bright and early this morning. I was cleaning up in the kitchen and saw a large bird fly into the brush pile and perch himself there. I realized it was a hawk and ran to grab my camera, only to have him leave immediately.


I was in my yard at about 2:00 this afternoon and I could see the squirrels frantically running up trees and scores of birds flying into cover. I knew it was a hawk so I again went to grab my camera and binoculars. He was in my neighbors lilac bush and I zoomed in on him w/ my binoulars. What talons!!! I could see him trying to get lower into the branches to get to the ground where I am assuming some of the birds were. I felt bad for him and prayed he got himself one of those awful house sparrows that dominate my yard. If he couldn't get that than I would have loved to have seen him get a starling who just started coming to my yard to eat all of my suet. I was desperate to get a picture so I grabbed my camera and tiptoed to my back yard. Let me tell you that hawk must have incredible hearing because off he flew. :o(. Once he flew off the squirrels leaped wildly from tree to tree to get out of my yard and birds who were in lousy cover darted for the brush pile in search of safety.

I had heard about how wild life reacts when a predator is nearby but I was never able to experience first hand and it was crazy to see. Hawks have it rough in the winter and it was obvious yesterday.

I am still not feeling well and didn't do much yesterday besides lounge. I did get a Christmas tree and went to the cemetery briefly. The picture you see here is of ice laden branches over the Blackstone River. We are expected to get warmer temps this week so I am hoping some of this ice will go away.
Peace






13 comments:

Jayne said...

There is nothing like seeing a Coopers swoop down to get a mourning dove, and leave a few feathers in the dust. I love them. They have to eat too, and the songbirds are, for the most part, able to move fast enough to be safe. Glad you are feeling at least some better Kallen.
Sending you some virtual chicken soup!

Shelley said...

Love the icy branches - but hope you feel 100% soon!. It is so exciting to watch the hawk. Like Jayne - I've seen the hawk grab a couple mourning doves - so as long as he leaves my cardinals and songbirds alone, I'm fine with that.

Rich said...

Glad to see you back online. Interesting about the hawk. Hope you are not dealing with the ice I read about on the East Coast. Get better!
Hope the basement is dry.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Kallen, I'm so glad you are okay. I saw pictures from somewhere in MASS and it was horrible. I hope you got the water out of your basement. That can be a mess!!!

I started wearing my camera around my neck when I'm outside so that I wouldn't miss the good pictures of the birds. Of course I have a little camera!!!!! Good Luck with the hawk!!!
Hugs,
Betsy

NCmountainwoman said...

First the rain and now the ice. You seem to have no relief! Hope both you and the weather improve.

Rambling Woods said...

If it's a Coopers or a sharpie, the squirrels just keep on going. I am wondering if the squirrels ran too because then I would think red-tailed. If it's small like a blue jay think sharp-shinned hawk. Larger like a crow, could be Coopers or really big then red-tailed. But the red-tailed are really too big to zip around the trees in a yard.. Feel better Kallen...

Deborah Godin said...

Love the gleaming icy photo and the edge-of-your-seat story of the hawk! Hope you keep on improving, too!!

Mary said...

Hope you are feeling better now, Kallen. The hawk will find a meal. You can count on it.

Mary

Anonymous said...

Yes, hawks have no patience with cameras. Sorry you didn't get your shot. But that's wildlife photography! It wouldn't be fun if it was easy.

I just got back from Keene, NH. My goodness, the ice in the trees! This is the worst ice storm I’ve ever seen! Looks like your power is back on?

Kim said...

Hi all, yes my power is back on. I feel like garbage though and I have no choice but to go to work today.

Yes it was very exciting to see the hawk yesterday. Thank Rmabling for the size differences. This really helps me to figure out one from the other now because they still all look the same to me.

I will probably not blog today. I am too tired. :o(. Need to get my rest for the Christmas Bird Count next Saturday!!

Take care all.

Rich said...

Kalen,
I have been listening to your music as I surf the net. I tried to get the music set up on my blog but it said I do not qualify. So, I will listen to your music until I can figure out how to get my own.

You have good musical taste.

RuthieJ said...

I can hardly ever get a photo of the Cooper's hawk in my backyard either. I found some mourning dove feathers on the ground this weekend, so I know for sure there's one less of them at my feeders now.
Enjoy your warmer weather for a few days and I hope you don't get what we did yesterday (from 43 to 0 in less than 12 hours!)

Linda said...

Enjoyed visiting your blog and seeing birds which are all new to me.

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