When I went out to feed the birds today, I found a pile of dove feathers underneath the fly-through feeder. So someone got lucky. :D We have lots of doves. We also have hawks and owls. I am pleased that the birdfeeders perform across multiple levels in the food chain.  Hawk predation is common around birdfeeders, and my yard is really nice hawk territory, so I am flattered when one takes up residence.  We have some tall emergent trees where they like to perch, open space to swoop through, and brushy areas that attract songbirds and rabbits.  I've only seen the squirrels a few times this year, though.

At lunch time, I noticed that the birds (a couple dozen sparrows and two pairs of cardinals) kept flying away from the hopper feeder and then coming back. As I looked around for the source of their skittishness, I spotted a hawk -- not in his usual tree (the bee-tree walnut about 20 feet from the house) but another on the east edge of the yard.

It was my_partner_doug who thought to get the camera and take a few snapshots through the window. So this isn't a great picture, but you can see that it's a hawk. \o/  Good hunting, skybrother.

Tags: birdfeeding, illinois, personal, wildlife
Current Mood: pleased