So many things to cover since the last post - right before a crazy month of vacation and weekend trips. But, for now, we will talk about the natural circle of life that might be going on right at your feeders. We all know that the neighborhood cat can be a threat to your backyard birds, but did you know there is a threat from the air, as well? Both the Cooper's Hawk and the Sharp-Shinned Hawk will prey on backyard birds. A pile of feathers near your feeder with no sign of a carcass is a tell-tale sign your feeders were visited by one of these birds of prey. The good news is that if they are hanging around for the birds, they may also be reducing your population of small rodents and other mammals and maybe even snakes.
The Cooper's Hawk is larger and especially known for raiding poultry yards - so it's not always the fox's fault! Your grandmother may have called them a Chicken Hawk, in fact. I always remember the Sharp-Shinned from the Cooper's by the alliterative trick of the S's in its name - it is Smaller and has a Squared tail. The Cooper's has a Curved tail. Other than those two things, they look remarkably alike in their markings. Don't be fooled by the color in this photo my Mom took at her backyard feeder this weekend. Photos frequently cause much debate amongst birders because colors can be so strongly affected by the ambient light, the camera settings, and in this case, the fact that the photo was taken through a screen. But the key reason this one is brown is because it is a first year juvenile. According to both Sibley's and Stokes, the 1st years of both Hawks are brown on the back and their eyes are not yet the distinctive red. What Bird does not show juveniles. The adults are much more slate gray on the back and rustier mottled brown on the front. Look for the distinctive horizontal dark and white streaks with the white stripe on the end of the tail of either bird, juvenile or adult.
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