The Hunter Hawk

This is how the Cooper’s hawk takes his prey. He will fly over at tree-top level or lower. If there are birds at the feeder, he will fly at them and attempt to take one of them in flight. The more birds, the great the probability that the hawk catches one.
As shown in this first photo, the hawk will also perch in a tree overlooking the Habitat. If and when the birds appear at the feeder or roosting in the brush or trees (see the second photo – there are many cardinals and woodpeckers in this photo – hard for you and me to see them all (we have 20-20 vision), but remember the hawk has 2-20 vision which is 10 times more powerful than us), he swoops down looking for prey. Of course, when the birds see the hawk coming they dive deeper into the brush for cover.
However, many times as in the third photo, the hawk will perch in a tree branch that less than 15 feet off the ground. Then, he will simply follow the birds into the brush. In this third photo, the hawk is literally scouting the bushes before, it dives in. We have actually observed the Cooper’s hawk diving into the full azalea bushes or in the combination of trees and vines that are shown in the second photo. The birds will exit from the opposite side of the brush if they are fast enough.

Predator Update

I have written many times about the two predators in the Colvin Run Habitat – the red-tailed fox and the Cooper’s hawk. Both have been observed several times during the last week in the Habitat (these two photos were taken this week). In fact, Dot observed the fox in the classic ‘curled-up, face in tail’ winter position (sorry, no photos of that yet). So why do these predators visit the Habitat so frequently?
The short answer is…free food. I have talked in length about the fox chasing the squirrels. And, we have photos and many other observations of the fox actually catching squirrels. Additionally, although rabbits were plentiful two summers ago, none have been observed in at least 18 months. Also, the chipmunks seem to come in waves – from being extremely numerous to literally none observed for a few months. Also, this is the first year in many that we have not had a mouse come from the field into the garage or even the house.
While we have had hawks in the Habitat in the past, the sightings have been few. I suspect that this year’s numerous Cooper’s hawk sightings are due to increased attention Habitat observation and the abundance of smaller birds at the feeder.

This morning at 8 AM, I replenished the feeders and within ten minutes, I had at least three dozen birds and four squirrels feeding and drinking. Maybe I should just get a neon sign that says, “Colvin Run Dinner.”

Saturday Visit to Washington, D.C.

To enjoy the spring-like weather, we headed downtown yesterday and walked around the Lincoln, Washington, and Jefferson memorials. A few bird photos to share. In the first, we have a sparrow enjoying a drink at (where else?) a water fountain.
In the second photo, we have some Mallard ducks enjoying the reflecting pool between the Lincoln and Washington memorials.
And in the last two photos, we have a large number of Canadian geese just floating in the Tidal Basin.
The highes each day for the last week have been in the high 60s and low 70s. Contrary to the news reports, we saw no cherry trees in bloom.

Woodpeckers Visit Window Feeder

I mentioned this past fall that I had installed a new feeder on one of the porch windows. I also posted a photo of one of the cardinals posing with the Christmas tree located on the other side of window. I placed shelled sunflower seeds in this feeder – my thinking being that the birds brave enough to come so close to the porch should be rewarded with not having to shell the seeds. Regardless, the feeder has been a great way to see the smaller birds close up.
During December, the downy woodpeckers began coming. Shown here is one of the female downies that has grown extremely tolerant of my presence inside the porch and outside within 5 feet of this feeder or the feeder down in the yard. As you can see in these photos, I really should add a piece to this feeder so that the woodpeckers have a place to rest their tail.
The chickadees and titmice were the first last fall to visit this feeder. The chickadee is shown in the fourth photo.

Titmice, and Chickadees, and Finches Too

The house finches came early – right after the chickadees and the titmice (first photo in this post) –to this feeder. Here is a photo of a male and female (photo two and three).
The wren also began coming to this feeder as shown in the last photo.
As this is a small feeder, it sometimes is crowded. Some birds (like the titmice) allow others at this feeder at the same time, other (like the wren) do not. The pecking order of dominance at this feeder is chickadee, titmice, wren, and lastly woodpecker or cardinal.

Reminder: Enlarged, High Res Photos

Just a quick reminder that enlarged, high resolution versions of all photos in the Colvin Run Habitat Blog are available by simply clicking on any photo.

Navigating Tree Branches

The Cooper’s Hawk visiting the Colvin Run Habitat has now been photographed on December 23, 24, 26, 30, and January 1, and observed (but not photographed) on January 2. The January 1 photos are, without a doubt, the best photos.

Here are the photos from the December 30 visit when this hawk perched in the nearby oak trees at about 50 feet off of the ground (first photo). I waited around until the hawk left and caught the last three photos. When the hawk left its perch, it dropped down into the tree branches and stayed below treetop level. These photos are an interesting addition to the first photo and the January 1 photos where the hawk is perched and stationary.

Look closely, as the tree branches are considerable. In the second photo, the hawk has just left the perch and is in a stooping-like position. In the third photo, the hawk is beginning to flap its wings. Finally, in the fourth photo, the hawk is gliding with its wings extended and steady. The amount of branches look worst than it is because the camera is shooting up and through lots of lower branches. However, if you look closely, you will clearly see that the hawk is below a number of the larger branches.

As seen in the January 1 photos, this hawk came into the birdfeeder area and perched only 5 feet off of the ground. To see this bird hunt in the close quarters of tree branches, with a wingspan of 2½ feet, is truly a thing of beauty. In fact, www.birds.cornell.edu reports, “Dashing through vegetation to catch birds is a rather dangerous lifestyle. A recent study found that 23 percent of all Cooper's Hawks examined had healed fractures in the bones of the chest, especially of the furcula or wishbone.”