For the past month, I have been keeping the camera in the sunroom, on hand at a moment’s notice to capture the activity we observe daily in our backyard. Right now the tree silhouettes are still bare, and this creates unique opportunities to more closely observe the natives.
Since I posted last Easter about what I then identified as a Cooper’s Hawk, I have since learned (thanks to the local Wild Bird feed store) that it was actually a Red-Shouldered Hawk, and that it was a young fledge that had ensnared itself in our porch screen. If you check out the link, you can see the difference in coloring between the mature hawk and the youngster, and even hear it’s “song.” This time of year, as nesting instincts are aroused, we hear his call quite a lot as he searches for his mate.
While we don’t make a habit of keeping feeders, they are just too big a target for our cat Prince and the neighborhood Red-Shoulder. We do put out stale bread and place it randomly throughout the backyard, hoping to keep them guessing. One morning after scattering bread for the birds, I found “our” hawk sitting on the shed watching and waiting for a meal of his own to approach. The crows were on to him in no time, and posted centuries in all the neighboring trees to alert unsuspecting diners. When danger had passed, the crows picked up some of the bread, plunked it into the feeder to soften it and took turns feasting. I continued to spot the Red-Shoulder throughout the morning in the surrounding trees, watching and waiting.
Winter is not quite finished with us here in the south. We had freezing temps last night that left the bird bath a virtual ice skating arena. It doesn’t seem to discourage the birds, however. I find them sitting on the ice sipping what water they can. It’s going to be a clear sunny day today, and the signs that Spring is awakening are abundant. Trees have begun to flower, the crocuses are bloom, and the first wave of early daffodils has cast their yellow veil upon the landscape, with new ones emerging daily.
