I have not seen the hundreds of hawks like those at the Harvey's Knob and
other watching places but I had one in my yard on Monday. I looked out in
the early afternoon to see a large hawk sitting in one of the bird baths
near the edge of the woods. He sat very still for at least 5 or 10 minutes
so that I had a really good look at him. He never moved except to turn his
head to look around. It wasn't long before an unwary little bird (a House
Finch, I think) hopped onto a stone nearby then he flew up towards the bath.
The hawk lifted out and grabbed the bird then held him down on the ground
for a few seconds before disappearing into the trees.
I don't know hawks very well but this one was all blue-gray above, white
under the tail and around the feet. Chest and belly were reddish with
narrow, horizontal stripes. I figured it had to be a Cooper's or
Sharp-Shinned but I am guessing Cooper's because he (or she) was at least as
big as a crow. Very clever on the part of the hawk to sit in the bath and
just wait. And when he moved on his prey it was like slow motion. Amazing
to see.
I think he was back today (Tuesday). Around 6:30 I heard a crash and when I
ran to look out, the feeder was swinging wildly and a feather was floating
by. That brought back old memories. As a child I lived in central Africa
and kept chickens for pets. I remember getting really mad at the hawks
because they seemed to swoop out of nowhere and grab baby chickens right in
front of me. The hens got pretty mad, too.
Sorry I have no pictures. Do you think it was a Cooper's from my
description?
Yard birds Tuesday, Sept 23
T. Vulture 1
Mourning Dove 3
RT Hummer 2
Red-belly WP 1 female, 1 male
Downy WP 1
Hairy WP 1
N. Flicker 3 (most I've even seen together here)
E. Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 1
A. Crow 2
C. Chickadee 1
Tufted Titmouse 2
WB Nuthatch 1
C. Wren 1
Scarlet Tanager 1
E. Bluebird 2
Am. Robin 6
Starling 1
Song Sparrow 1
N. Cardinal 1
House Finch 5
Am. Goldfinch 1m, 1f
Nancy Young
Blue Ridge,
Botetourt County
