Roger,
It may be that there is some communication (this may not be the right word)
taking place that indicates to the squirrels that the Hawk is not currently
in hunting mode. To us it looks bizarre but may be quite ordinary for the
creatures involved. Anyway that is just an idea something that comes to mind
from reading the likes of Jack London and other Nature writers of similar
ilk not something that I have personaly observed.
just a thought.....
Adios,
William Leigh
Bridgewater VA
leightern@xxxxxxx
From: "Roger Mayhorn" <mayhorn@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Birding Virginia" <va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Va-bird] Rusty Blackbirds and Red-shouldered Behavior
Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 22:14:09 -0500
Hi All,
Yesterday two Rusty Blackbirds were feeding here in our yard on Compton Mt. Today the number had grown to seven.
At one time feeding under one bush were, 4 Rusties, 3 Red-wings, a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow, 3 White-throated Sparrows, 2 Song Sparrows, 2 Dark-eyed Juncos, 1 male House Finch, 1 male Eastern Towhee and 2 male Cardinals.
We've had Purple Finches every day for the last couple of weeks, but none today.
Within the last 3 days Cooper's, Sharp-shinned and Red-shouldered Hawks have come into the yard to stay for awhile.
I was surprised to see a Red-shouldered sit in a tree in full view of 3 Gray Squirrels about 30 yards away, as they fed under the feeders. Earlier in the day I had seen the hawk near the edge of the woods eating a small rodent, possibly a chipmunk.This time the hawk sat in this tree for nearly an hour. The squirrels ignored it, and it ignored the squirrels. When the squirrels would scamper across the yard I could see the hawk turn or bend its head to watch, but it never attempted to catch one. I might have expected that behavior from a Sharp-shinned or possibly even a Cooper's, but not from a Red-shouldered.
In fact, a few weeks ago I saw a Gray Squirrel climb a tree to within six or seven feet of a Cooper's Hawk. The hawk peered down at it, but made no attempt for it.
During this more recent encounter, when the Red-shouldered flew from the tree around 30 or 40 feet in the air, it flew almost directly over the area where the squirrels were feeding, but the squirrels did not run, and did not quit feeding.
Does anyone else find that behavior a bit odd for a buteo?
A pair of young Red-shouldereds was raised in the nearby woods this summer, and that is where the squirrels live. Might this have been a young hawk that didn't yet have the confidence to attempt Gray Squirrels, and the squirrels somehow understood that?
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt
Buchanan County
_______________________________________________
va-bird mailing list
http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird
Va-bird is a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. http://www.virginiabirds.net/
