Look out! HAWK!

So... something you might not think about if you're new to the whole birdfeeding thing... If you feed songbirds, you can bet you're going to feed the occasional hawk as well. I've observed two species at my feeding station. One, a redtail, who's lived in our neighborhood for several years will take a bird if he can get one but he's more likely to target one of the fat gray squirrels that visit my yard for sunflower seeds, suet, peanuts, cracked corn, and the acorns from our oak trees. And we don't have to worry about wood rats. He took care of them when they showed up a couple of years ago. Once I made the mistake of watching "big red" eat one through my mom's scope. It was extremely gross.
The other hawk that frequents my yard is a Cooper's. He's long and lean with a narrow striped tail and red eyes that freaked me out a little at first. Coopers hawks are fast and agile and prey mainly on birds. Initially, it really upset me to know that I was putting the songbirds in danger, even though I get it that hawks need to eat too. I did some research and learned that subsidizing the local bird population with with food, water, and shelter does more good than harm. It's beneficial to many many birds, and hawks will prey on birds whether you're feeding or not.
Nature's not always pretty, but it's always interesting. Anyone who's ever watched a lioness take out a cute little gazelle on NatGeo knows that. Man interferes in so many negative ways: habitat destruction, car strikes, pesticide use. I'm glad I can give a little back to our feathered friends with my little bird cafe.

Pictures: http://birdsdowntown.wordpress.com/2012/12/
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-tailed_hawk/id


A Coopers Hawk remains vigilant while perched on a branch

A soaring Red Tailed Hawk fans out its red tail as it scans the ground for unsuspecting prey

House Finches

  The weather is warming up, and more birds are arriving at the feeder. This week a couple house finches got my attention, so I snapped a few shots of them and decided to make them the species for this week. These birds can be found almost everywhere in the US year round. Male house finches are handsome with a scarlet red wash on their heads and throats. Females are brownish gray with blurry streaks all over. Many finches will overlook a regular tube feeder because the seeds and berries inside are too big, but house finches will sift through the seeds as well as eat the thistle from the finch feeders. These birds are not ground feeders, so unless you have a finch feeder you most likely won't encounter one.  They're hard to spot on trails because finches are very small birds that blend in with the trees that they're perched in. If you don't have a feeder at home (yet!), visit a local nature center. They usually keep their feeders full and you can observe the birds up close and personal.
A fun fact about house finches is that in 1940 a group of illegally sold caged house finches were released near New York City, and now all of the house finches east of the great plains are descendants of these released birds! Birds rule!

A female (left) and male (right) house finch eating thistle seeds from a tube feeder

Two male house finches that were searching for the smaller seeds inside the tube feeder

A male house finch perched on a wisteria vine.

Showcasing: The White Throated Sparrow

I was sick this past weekend, which gave me a lot of time to just look at the birds at my feeder. It gave me the idea that it would be interesting to write some posts showcasing various bird species that visit my little "bird café". This week we have the white throated sparrow. It's easily recognizable by it's white throat and crown. In fact many bird names are very "creative" in this aspect, for example the white breasted nuthatch has a white breast, a purple martin is well... purple, mourning doves make mournful sounds, and so on. However some birds have names that give a false impression of how the bird looks. Take the purple sandpiper for instance; the name makes you think that it's purple obviously. But, if you're at the beach anytime next winter check the rocky jetties for a plump, brownish, long-billed bird probing the crevices, you just might be looking at a "purple" sandpiper. If you use your imagination, and the light is juuuuust right, you might see a very slight purple gloss in their plumage. Anyway, back to the white throated (WT). They are ground feeders and scratch among the fallen leaves for food. My mom and I make sure to throw some seeds and cracked corn on the ground for the WT, mourning doves, juncos, and others. The WT has two morphs. They either have a bright white eyebrow, or a tan stripped eyebrow. WT's have a distinctive yellow lore (area in front of the eye). A fun fact about the WT is that for a while it was believed that the tan striped morph of the WT was simply the juvenile plumage, but recent studies have shown that white striped adults usually mate with tan striped WT adults. Well, what can I say... opposites attract! You can search for a WT in your back yard or as you walk along Sligo's wooded paths. They're present winter, spring, and fall.

A white throated sparrow with a white eyebrow

 

The WT's blend in with the ground (left), unlike the cardinals