One day last week, I heard the Blue Jays screaming like crazy outside.
I though gee, did they eat all those peanuts already!
Then I realized it was their alarm call!
I looked out the window and saw this perched on the fence!
I thought gosh that's big, I grabbed my camera in case it was something "good",
then it turned around...
Well, it was something good alright, but not so good at the same time.
A Blue Jay was taken early in the autumn, just a few feathers left on the ground.
I suspected a hawk, but I didn't see the predator.
On this day, I saw it.
Bad news at the feeders.
But what a magnificent bird, bold and beautiful...
and it's a lifer for me.
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
The hawk has taken two birds (that I know of), from our yard in a week.
I have pondered over taking the feeders down for a while (as suggested by Cornell) to discourage the hawk from using them as it's own personal smorgasbord. But, I'm not sure if that would solve the problem. Although we live in the suburbs, within 2-4 blocks in all directions, we are surrounded by a conservation forested area, a river, and 6 "kettle lake" ponds in an Environmentally Significant Area with forests, wetlands and marshes... so, I expect that more than one hawk will be cruising the area.
For now, Hubber's and I are busy constructing some new brush piles, and a roosting box or two for the songbirds to take cover in.
sharing with...
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