Our Hawk Came Back

Not too much to share today in terms of bird photos. The hawks like our neighborhood but prove as difficult as ever to catch on camera!

I only have one other bird to share this week besides the hawk. One morning I was taking out the trash and glanced up over the house to see this crow sitting in the top of one of the maple trees:

Took the photo from the front yard. He didn’t stick around too long before his friends called and away he flew. We see quite a few crows from time to time. However, they usually don’t hang out in our yard too often.

Mostly, this week I’ve been at work and not out watching the birds with camera in hand (or nearby). However, Tuesday we did get to hear and see one of our neighborhood hawks in action. No hunting luck from our feeders (that I witnessed) for the poor little hawk.

Hawk Tales

Late in the afternoon on Wednesday , J and I took a walk almost around the block, a dog stopped us short but that’s not relevant. We saw robins and cardinals and heard a Carolina wren in the empty lots we passed near the lake. A few geese were in the field surrounding the lake. As part of the agreement to walk with me, I’d bribed the teenager that I’d leave my camera at home. So no photos.

The weather on Wednesday, blustery. Nice out until the winds started. I starting mentioning how maybe it was too windy for us to see our hawks as we came closer to home. At the same moment, we saw over the roofline, a swooping bird making my comments sound like nonsense. And then, we heard the hawks calling.

This lonely, and unsuccessful hunter (on Wednesday anyway), sat perched and looking deep in thought.

Though I looked for a bit, I never could find his calling companion. Sounded quite close, somewhere out front. Later, he moved to another tree branch and we could spot him out my son’s bedroom window. However, by the time I got back outdoors with my camera, away he flew!

Perhaps this week, will be my lucky week for good photos of our Cooper’s Hawks. And perhaps, the birds will help me out by developing a taste for fat squirrels as opposed to my little song birds.

Other Birds Spotted This Week

As I mentioned, I worked quite a few days this week so not a lot of bird photo taking time. The weather’s been nice enough to enjoy them in passing though with plenty of blue skies visible between the cloudy days. Lately, I’ve seen more robins hanging out in the backyard.

And then, our usual guests, welcome and unwelcome, at the bird feeders: sparrows, mostly the house kind with two or three white-throated ones as well, cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, tufted titmice, and doves. The house finches finally took to the new squirrel proof feeder. My unwelcome squirrels continue to raid all the others.

I’ve started throwing a fruit/nut seed mix on the deck railing for the blue jays to come gobble. I watched one spit one type of the see out one day, must not have been a fan of that type. If the blue jays don’t come in time, the squirrels find it. The cardinals and sparrows seem to enjoy it there as well. Probably need to get a proper tray feeder for the area by the deck. The downy and red-bellied woodpeckers still visit the suet feeder when the squirrels aren’t hogging it. As does the Carolina wren.

At work on Thursday, I spotted more robins, a blue jay in the woods near the main playground, and then a robin sitting on a branch with two mourning doves near the pre-primary playground. A group of gulls also flew overhead late yesterday afternoon as we were out there.

What birds did you spot this week?

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Joining in with the Bird Depot hosted by Anni over at I’d Rather B Birdin’.