Our new Sharp-shinned Hawk—and the other side of birding...

Yesterday while brushing my teeth, I was looking out the bathroom window at the peanut feeder hanging from our Ash Tree. About 10 European Starlings were clambering over it, trying to each get a peanut. With such a ruckus, I wondered why I had never seen a hawk take down a starling in our backyard. They are numerous and large, are easy to spot, and would make a good meal. It only seemed logical. As the thought was leaving my head, the Sharp-shinned Hawk that's new to our yard swooped in and grabbed one of the outermost starlings, sinking to the ground with it in one graceful move. Holy Cow! I couldn't believe it. I've never seen anything happen in real life as I conjured the thought in my head! The Sharp-shinned Hawk must have been hiding in the huge pine trees next to the feeder. A few days earlier I had watched the same Sharp-shinned Hawk, who had been hiding in a tangle of branches in the Weeping Willow tree, burst out in pursuit of a Northern Cardinal. The cardinal out maneuvered the hawk and got away. The starling wasn't as lucky...

This winter has brought a new "regular" to our backyard—a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

We've had Sharp-shins visit our yard every now and then, but they have never stuck around. Cooper's Hawks always seemed to prefer our yard, but now that the magnificent "hawk branch" has fallen, a Sharp-shinned has shown up. He doesn't seem to need a perfect lookout. He seems to like hiding in the tangles of the Weeping Willow or the thick branches of the pine trees.

Rick was the first to spot this fellow. He called him out to me saying, "look at that tiny hawk!" I scrambled to the window, and sure enough, a Sharp-shinned Hawk was perched in the Weeping Willow. Compared to the Cooper's Hawks that usually visit our yard, he is much, much smaller, but just as lethal.

When I look at photos, it's really hard for me to tell a Sharp-shinned Hawk from a Cooper's Hawk. I know Sharp-shins are supposed to have squared-off tails, be broader at the shoulders and narrower at the hips, and that a small, male Cooper's hawk can look like a large, female Sharp-shinned Hawk, but out in the yard, it's easier to tell them apart. They perch in different areas and the Sharp-shinned Hawk is noticeably smaller. His legs are so thin and his middle toe seems extra long too. Click here for a detailed description on Cornell's Project FeederWatch site to learn how to tell a Sharp-shinned Hawk from a Cooper's Hawk.

...after taking down the Starling, the hawk sat on the ground with the bird for a moment or two. He then lifted up, carrying the Starling with him to the woods near the back of our neighbor's yard. The Starling was nearly as big as the Sharp-shinned Hawk. I was surprised at how the hawk was able to take off so easily.

Afterwards, I went outside to see if any evidence of the hawk's attack was left behind. At first I saw nothing, but then droplets of blood stood out. Sharp-shinned Hawks' talons are very sharp, so it should not have been a surprise, but I was still a little shocked to see the blood splatters on the leaves. I wasn't going to include this shot, but it seemed important. It's the other part of bird watching.

If you want to see a Cooper's Hawk eating his prey, and compare it to this Sharp-shinned Hawk, click here for an earlier post.

A Kitchenhawk in the plum tree...

...a Kitchenhawk is an accipiter that sits outside my kitchen window. His size is a bit iffy---he's about halfway between the size of an Obvious Sharp-shinned Hawk and an Obvious Cooper's Hawk. A week or so a go, an Obvious Sharp-shinned Hawk (juvenile) landed outside my kitchen window. He was small--really no larger than a Blue Jay. A few days later, the same munchkin landed on the deck, followed about an hour later by an Obvious Cooper's Hawk (juvenile). She was very large! But for the past couple of days, this in between-sized hawk has been visiting the plum tree and hockey net on the kitchen side of the house. My guess is he is a small, male juvenile Cooper's Hawk, but sometimes he seems small enough to be a Sharp-shinned. I do not know enough about hawks to make a decision. His tail feathers seem rounded and uneven, which points towards a Cooper's but.....any experts out there? I'll have more photos of him over the next couple of days.

When I showed this photo to Rick, he sad it was a shame the tree was in the way, but I sometimes like these peeping-through-the-woods shots. You'd never know this fellow was sitting about 10 feet outside my kitchen window. Although the fuzziness has that shooting-through-a-screen feel.

I would hate to be a tiny mouse or bird and be on the receiving end of that stare!!

...that beautiful orange-buff head makes me lean towards a small male Cooper's Hawk.

...another Peeping Tom shot! I love the intense focus that always shows up in a hawk's eye.

Feelin’ groovy…because I saw five White-winged Crossbills and a Sharpy today!

After reading White-winged Crossbills were sighted once again in Spring Grove Cemetery on the Birding in Cincinnati site and on the Nutty Birder site, I high-tailed it down there today. I drove around with my windows open for about an hour, listening and looking, but had no luck with the crossbills. I did, however, see a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. I heard his call first, then stopped the car and looked, and there he was. His yellow belly was such a pretty pale yellow it made smile (or maybe it was just saying his name...there's no doubt about it, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is fun to say).

I soon came to a section with several parked cars and people with binocs. This was a good sign. I parked and walked over. Three crossbills had just left about 20 minutes earlier. In their place, a Sharp-shinned Hawk (life bird for me). I was amazed at how small he was. He remained in the tree for a long time, occasionally flying out and circling. Earlier I had photographed what I assumed was a Cooper’s Hawk on a statue of a soldier, but it may have been the Sharp-shinned Hawk. It seemed too small for a Cooper’s when I photographed it.  


We waited about 45 minutes. The sharpy kept coming back to the hemlock. Apparently he was looking for the crossbills too. Eventually I heard their twittering, and we looked up and watched five of them fly into a pine. I fired off a shot, but it’s not great. You can sort of see the crossed bill and the rosy color. They chose the tallest tree to feed in, and my lens was not powerful enough for a decent shot. That’s okay. My binocs were just fine and I was able to add another lifer to my list. Crossbills are very quiet when feeding (just like us, I guess), but as soon as they took off in flight, their twittering was loud and clear.