April 13, 2007

Oh Sunny Day! Too bad I had to work, but it is better than the alternative Errands after work kept me from doing much outside. The daffodils are starting to perk up but the forsythia flowers have had it. They are brown from freezing

They guys are moving fast. Hitting the feeders one at a time. I wonder if the Coop has been ambushing them? I walked around the house after I got home No sign, but a Cooper’s Hawk is a master of stealth and surprise. Waiting out of view for the moment to come flashing through and pick someone off.

I remember the first time I saw a Sharpie, take a bird. It was interesting because the tactic one I have not seen repeated. I was around 10 or 12 years old, and my mom and I were watching the Juncos in the back yard. We saw what looked like a ball of leaves or cardboard come tumbling through the yard, only when it grabbed a Junco and flew off did we realize it was a Sharp-shinned Hawk. Deception and stealth. The way of the accipiter.

Nature is red of tooth and claw. The hawks have to make a living too.