Coopers Hawk Family Reunion

More about the Coopers Hawk...  This morning there were no birds at the feeder and the who-who birdies had not stopped by either.  So I figured the hawks were still in the area.

I broke out the binoculars and started checking nearby trees.  Sure enough in the large tree just the other side of our back fence sat a hawk.  Then I noticed another.  And then yet another.  They must have been having a family reunion. 

I checked them out as best I could with the binoculars.  When Ginger came into the room I told here I had spied the hawks and there were 3 of  'em in the tree.  She said, "is that counting the one on the fence?"   Geez, I had missed the hawk sitting right in front of my face.  I would make a great hunter.... sure.

A short time later the largest of the hawks dropped from the tree and was obviously going after some bird.  These hawks are fast and agile.  It was headed down toward the ground going fast and then lifting and turning at the same time.  It's wings were almost vertical as it turned around the maiden grass stalks.  It then accelerated and zoomed out of my sight as it went down by the side of the house.

I don't know if the hawk connected with it's target.  I was certainly impressed with the demonstration of agility, speed and obvious strength. 

Once again these things begin and end in just seconds.  Go to the fridge or answer the phone and you will miss the show.

A Coopers Hawk Stops by for a Visit

Here's the deal. This is supposed to be a Frog Blog but it's winter and in this neck of the woods all the frogs are sleeping very soundly, no doubt dreaming about eating birds. So when something a bit different happens in the back yard I decided I should add it to the blog if for no other reason than to keep the blog active. Nuff said... I'm writing a short story.

You will be surprised to find that pictured is a Coopers Hawk!  Not surprised?  I understand.  The picture is not the hawk that visited our yard this morning.  The picture is one I found on the Internet. 

I googled "Coopers Hawk" and found the bird to be pretty interesting.  Here are a few facts about "Coop."

• Their main food source is small birds up to the size of a dove.  They also eat most small mammals like chipmunks, squirrels, snakes and can you believe FROGS! 
• They will chase down a bird on the ground as well as attack from the air.
• The will "stake out" bird feeders.  How's that for being adaptable.  When birds gather at the feeder the hawk will scatter the birds and then try to take one in the air.
• About a fourth of the hawks have healed fractures of the wishbone believed to be caused primarily by crashing into stuff while pursuing prey in flight through thick vegetation or on a ground chase.  A bit intense don'tyaknow.
• They don't kill their prey with their beak (like falcons) but repeatedly squeeze it until it dies or, get this, hold the prey under water until it quits moving.  A lot like drowning!  They will pluck the feathers or fur from it's prey before eating.

We have not noticed any Coopers Hawks around our yard any except one other time a few weeks ago. While that certainly doesn't mean they haven't stopped in for a snack they haven't taken up residence either.  We're thinking they may be migrating.  According to what I've read, however, they are known to stay year-round in most of the US.  Possibly it could be that other birds have migrated and they are drawn to our bird feeder because of slim pick'ns in their previous range.  Your guess is as good as mine but it sounds reasonable.

Today's bird was pretty small so we think it was a juvenile.  It had the coloring of a juvenile.  This is probably its first winter.  It's legs and toes were a nice yellow color and by using the binoculars you could see it's dark talons clearly.  I was impressed.

The backyard has been very empty.  I filled the bird feeder yesterday morning and it still had food this afternoon so this guy must have been in the area for a day or two.  The birds did return to the feeder late this afternoon.  No hawks in sight.

The 5000 Gallon Bird Bath

Here it is the middle of November. I've been missing the drama that Joe brought to the pond but it would appear the birds are not missing Joe one iota.

It is odd, me thinks, that during the hot summer you rarely see birds bathing in the waterfalls... they drink a lot but bathing is rare. I've commented to Ginger about this a number of times but have no idea why that would be. I was thinking about this today and for a while was pondering if Joe might be the deterrent to summer baths. I think not as I've seen this behavior PJ (pre-Joe). What ever the reason these guys sure seem to enjoy the bath time. They particularly like the waterfalls, Humpty Dumpty Falls is the current favorite although the picture of the sparrows is at Joe's Station.

The picture on the left are sparrows.  They get all excited and splash an amazing amount of water.  This water is cold, about 45 degrees or so and dropping.  The birds seem not to notice.  The picture on the right are the who-who birdies (who-who birdie definition) having a splash.  Sometimes the who-who's act like ducks and actually swim in the water for short distances and then fly away like they got scared.  Maybe they had  a flashback of Joe looking for lunch.  They also like to stretch their wings.  You will see them hang'n around and then one will lean to one side and extend the wing on the "high side."  Kind of odd looking and sometimes they will leave the wing extended for half a minute or so.  Just showing off their feathery wing pit I guess.

This past spring I saw a "new to our world bird" try and take a bath in the waterfall.  As soon as it started fluttering and splashing the current took it over the falls and into the pond. Plop! Splash!  The little guy flapped about for about half a second and then was airborne and gone.  Probably hasn't bathed since.  It was pretty funny to watch and gave me a good laugh.  Like most events concerning the pond they happen very fast and if you blink you may miss it.

In my opinion the Robin Redbreast gets the award for enjoying bath time the most.  They will splash around for minutes at a time and usually leave with wet heads and feathers that look like a bad hair day.  After their bath they will perch on a tree or the pergola and preen.  We don't see them very often. They don't seem to care about the bird feeder so maybe we don't have much to draw them.  The do like to peck around in the garden.  We bought worms for the raised garden right after I built it and the robins were there in a flash trying to dig them up.  How did they know we added worms?  D'ya think they were spy'n on us?  They didn't get 'em all as we now have worms in the garden but you have to dig for them.

As we move into the short days and long cold nights I look forward to Joe's return in April or May.  I hope she does come back.  I don't suppose the birds will miss her if she doesn't find our place.