Neighborhood Predator

I finally got a great view, and plenty of shots of, our neighborhood hawk.

Hawks are nothing new to the neighborhood.   Boston has seen a resurgence of our hawk population over the years.  Two years ago a hawk did a nice job of getting rid of the rabbits in the community garden.   

Lately I've seen a young one flying around the neighborhood (the South End of Boston), including opening my shades in the morning to find him perched on my porch (only to fly away upon seeing the shade go up.

So today on my day off I'm looking out the back door watching the bird feeder.   Usual crowd today;  House and White Throated sparrows and House Finches.   Lots of action.   Then - all at once, they all up and fly to the left.   I'm thinking maybe a Jay or Starling was coming in fast and scaring them off.

To my surprise there it is - the hawk swooping in, coming close to the porch, then sweeping upwards.   Thinking he had to be going to the tree I dashed to the living room, grabbed the SLR, then back onto the porch in my slippers.

There he (she?) was - perched on the tree close to the deck.   He hung out long enough to get a great series of shots...     Seems to be a juvenile Coopers Hawk, based on the chest spotting and rounded tail feathers.

Quite stately.   Always looking like he's about to attack....

Some strange behavior spotted - he kept raising his right leg, fully withdrawing it into his folds.  The web says birds often do this to conserve heat.  Even though it wasn't that cold out perhaps he was taking a moment to warm up.

Hawk, or flamingo?

More first time behavior for me - a few times he would rub his beak on either side of the branch.  Not sure if he was cleaning it.  or, as a juvenile, this is a way of scraping off old skin or sharpening his beak.  Found a blog post that tells a little more about bird beaks...  And I've since learned this is called Feaking.

Tree as napkin?

While snapping, two Blue Jays returned, and expressed their displeasure about our hawk - squawking bloody murder - either trying to drive him off or warning others of his presence.

Jay unhappy the hawk is in the next tree.

Close-up of the watchful

I've been spotted!!  The rounded tail feathers identify Coopers hawk (vs red-tailed)

He ended up being there for about an hour, then was gone.   it looked as if he went to the adjacent park, but I couldn't find him again.    Perhaps to return another day???


Thanks for visiting - see more of my birding photos on flickr here


And check out this blog entry as to why we may be seeing more hawks in the city....

Bird Feeder, Chapter 2

Messy eaters, those House Finches

Well, I've had the bird feeder up for about a month, and have had some interesting observations...

• Birds are pigs.    These things eat like you would not believe.  In the first month I've gone through 9 lbs of birdseed. But it is winter and they need the help.

• Birds must have eating schedules.   The feeder will be mobbed for a while, then completely empty.   I haven't quite figured that out yet.

House Finch waiting for an open spot on the feeder

• Sparrows are bullies.    House and White Throated sparrows have found the feeder.   They will usually try to push out any other birds who want to grab a bite.

• House Finches are the next bullies.   These are new birds to the area, and I've spotted at least 3 couples in the area now.   Once a pair of House Finches are perched eating, they will scar away all the other finches.

House Finch giving me attitude

• That being said, some birds are getting wicked fat.   I worry I'll come home one day and find a few birds that just cannot fly away.  Part of the problem is someone in the parks who also feeds the birds.   A secondary problem is the park feeders leave too much food, so the rats are now having a banquet at night with the extra birdseed / bread crumbs from this unfortunate do-gooder.

White-Throated Sparrow - putting on weight?  or fluffing up to stay warm?

• A Black-Capped Chickadee is also visiting.   but he is very timid and will fly in, peck for a few seconds then fly off. 

Black-Capped Chickadee on a tree, waiting to hit the feeder again

• Big birds are hungry too.   The bird feeder can only accommodate smaller birds but they are messy eaters.   So eating the dropped seed on the ground are Blue Jays, Cardinals and Mourning Doves.

• I wanted to see some more birds, so I bought a suet feeder.   The Blue Jay does pick from it form time to time, as well as the Chickadee.  No woodpeckers there yet, although I've seen one in the tree across from me.   (Woodpeckers are supposed to like suet).

Downy Woodpecker in the tree.  Haven't seen him at the suet yet.

Video of the Chickadee feasting.   

A gang of house finches on the tree across the way

We'll see what the next month brings.   I only plan on keeping the feeder up until Spring time, when birds can find natural food again.  Trying different seed blends as well to see if one blend attracts fewer sparrows...


Thanks for visiting And see more birding photos on my Flickr album!!