Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Raptors and Winter Flowers


Our resident red-shouldered hawks sometimes hunt for small birds feeding in the garden beds in front of the house. The activity of so many birds can be irresistible to them.



I saw a Cooper's hawk hunting on the farm earlier this winter, and the front gardens was one of its favorite places to hunt. It had rounded tail feathers, which is why I think it was a Cooper's. I got a good look as it flew up from the ground into one of the nearby trees as I led the horses by. It even began to preen. This one was about the size of a crow so it was probably a female. Usually when I see an accipiter of an ambiguous size -- larger than a blue jay (average size of a Sharp-shinned) but smaller than a crow (average size of a Cooper's) -- I have to settle for "either a female Sharp-shinned or a male Cooper's". Male raptors are often smaller than females and the size differences are marked in accipiters and falcons. Female Cooper's hawks may be one third larger than males. I saw this bird flying over the pastures too, looking just like a tiny military aircraft.

And yesterday I saw a Sharp-Shinned up close! I had just turned the horses out, heard some frantic twittering in the holly tree, and then saw a bird which at first I thought was a mockingbird. Then I realized that it was a little bit bigger than a mockingbird and brown, not gray. I got an excellent look at him as he flew across the grass drive towards the woods. Must have been a he because he was absolutely no larger than a blue jay.

With less cover winter is a great time to observe hawks. DH saw a marsh harrier last week and the red-shouldered hawks commenced with their courtship rituals at the beginning of the year.

The first wave of flowers and half opened buds of the Prunus mume -- about a third of the tree's total -- were swiped by the cold spell in early January, but since then buds have started opening again.




The witch hazel wasn't affected by >15 degree temperatures at all,
and I catch the fragrance every time I walk by. The scent is clean
and like Fruit Loops at the same time.



13 comments:

  1. Lovely photos. Don't think I've ever seen a Coopers or a Sharp Shinned hawk in my area. We do have a resident red tail who raises a family here every spring. We have a foot of snow on the ground here so I hope our hawk manages to find enough to eat to survive the winter. Our winters are very hard times for hawks.

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  2. How great it must be to have such an assortment of birds. You have good spots for them to shelter. How cool that you have blooms, I am so glad it is February, and I can see that spring is on its way, even though we have had over 12 inches of snow over the last 3 days.

    Thanks for stopping by ny blog.

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  3. Great photos. How neat to see all of the different birds and to see spring starting to happen there in your bit of paradise on earth.

    Have a lovely day ~ FlowerLady

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  4. Lovely sunny pictures in your garden and the pictures of your haws are wonderful!

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  5. Great photos! I often see red-tailed hawks soaring the area below us but I've never been quick enough to catch a photo and I've never seen one take a rest break in our garden.

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  6. If Prunus mume and witch hazel are blooming, has some important corner been turned?

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    1. Prunus mume and witch hazel are committed winter bloomers, not early spring bloomers. At least the days are getting longer though. :)

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  7. Great photos! Red-tailed hawks are the common hawks in our area, but I've never been able to get a photo of one. I missed the perfect opportunity one day when one was sitting feeding on something near the end of our yard. Just as I finally got my camera out, he flew away--carrying a poor squirrel!

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  8. I would love to have something blooming! Actually, I think I have an overachieving hellebore. :o) I see raptors here but not that often. My area is just too built up. But if hawks eat squirrels, they need to come by more often.

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  9. Great shots of the hawk! I am so ready for spring, but this weekend we are supposed to have bitter cold again, with temps in the teens. I was looking at my camellias today, with big buds about to open. Every time they start to bloom, it seems they are hit with frost. I guess that is what they get for blooming in winter!

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  10. Gorgeous photos, you can see all the feather details on that bird. Just wonderful. It's freezing cold here and blowing snow so it's a treat to see your blooms. I've never heard witchhazel described as fruitloops before, your description brought a smile to my face. I'll have to sniff the blooms come spring to satisfy my curiosity now.

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  11. Fantastic photo's of the raptor. It's so hard te catch it on a photo.
    I hope the cold is not in your part of the country. A couple of weeks to wait and spring will be there.
    Have a wonderful day Sweetbay.

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  12. Nice capture of that hawk! The Prunus mume is beautiful. Good that all the buds weren't blasted by the cold snap.

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