Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

Birdfeeding

I went out to feed birds today.  It's trying to rain.  I keep hearing thunder and the ground is a little wet.

I heard the distinctive KEE-ARR of a red-tailed hawk.  I looked up but couldn't see it.  Then I heard it again.  When I walked in the direction of the sound, the hawk flushed out of a tree in our yard.  :D  I think they're drawn to all the sparrows hanging around the birdfeeders.  Or possibly the squirrels.
Tags: birdfeeding, illinois, nature, personal, wildlife
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  • 5 comments
elenbarathi

elenbarathi

November 25 2018, 23:46:00 UTC 2 years ago

Most likely the squirrels; red-tails prefer mammals, though they'll take whatever they can get.

We've got a sharp-shinned hawk who hunts in our yard, but I've never seen her catch anything; the bird-feeders are all near pretty good cover. She's got a war on with the crows; one time she blasted down from the treetop and knocked one smack-bang off the fence-post, before the rest of the escadrille rose up to chase her off.

We may have an owl hanging out in our Atlas cedar - don't know what kind, but twice now at twilight, somebody with big wings has flown right past my office window.
ysabetwordsmith

Thoughts

ysabetwordsmith

November 25 2018, 23:55:45 UTC 2 years ago

>> Most likely the squirrels; red-tails prefer mammals, though they'll take whatever they can get. <<

I mentioned the sparrows because I have repeatedly seen hawks perching in trees, watching the feeders. Once I saw an attack swoop, but it was unsuccessful. The hawk landed on a branch above the yard and ruffled its feathers. "I meant to do that."

>> She's got a war on with the crows; one time she blasted down from the treetop and knocked one smack-bang off the fence-post, before the rest of the escadrille rose up to chase her off. <<

Wow!

>> We may have an owl hanging out in our Atlas cedar - don't know what kind, but twice now at twilight, somebody with big wings has flown right past my office window.<<

Here we have great-horned owls. Used to be barn owls, but now the other ones. Occasionally we see one. Often I hear them hoo-hooing at night. :D
elenbarathi

Re: Thoughts

elenbarathi

November 26 2018, 02:16:01 UTC 2 years ago

Haha, "I meant to do that" - they always look so dignified!

I can always tell when our little sharp-shin is out there, even if I can't see her, because all the little guys go silent and simply vanish. I saw her hunt a tree-frog one day, that was croaking out in the bushes - don't think she caught it though.

Love the horned owls so much! We have them out in the forests here, but around my house is too open, so most likely what I've been seeing fly past is a barred owl - possibly a barn owl, but didn't look quite that big.
ysabetwordsmith

Re: Thoughts

ysabetwordsmith

November 26 2018, 02:30:03 UTC 2 years ago

>>I can always tell when our little sharp-shin is out there, even if I can't see her, because all the little guys go silent and simply vanish. <<

Yep, I've seen that.

>>I saw her hunt a tree-frog one day, that was croaking out in the bushes - don't think she caught it though.<<

Wow! We have tree frogs here, gray ones and green ones. I've only ever seen two of them though.

>> Love the horned owls so much! We have them out in the forests here, but around my house is too open, so most likely what I've been seeing fly past is a barred owl - possibly a barn owl, but didn't look quite that big.<<

We're out in the open. They hang out in tree-filled yards like ours, but they love to hunt in the fields. These are definitely great-horned owls. They're huge and they hoo-hoo.
elenbarathi

Re: Thoughts

elenbarathi

November 27 2018, 20:51:08 UTC 2 years ago

We had a peregrine land out by our feeders early this morning - much bigger than little sharp-shin. My fiercely territorial favorite seagull, Stud Duck, took a pass over, but thought better of challenging - I took a few photos, then went out and flapped once on the deck, which was all it took. "Sorry, Peri; no hunting here." So cool to see it, though!