Last Sunday morning I let our cat out. The magpies in our big spruce made some funny noises so I went out on the veranda to see what was wrong. Suddenly a northern goshawk came shooting down, grabbed a magpie in mid-air and landed in my border. The magpie squeaked a couple of times, then it was silent. The hawk sat there for just a few seconds before it flew off with the magpie. It's the first time I've seen a full hawk attack sequence in real life, and I just stood there, gaping, probably looking like an idiot. We've seen the hawk a few times before, but this was so close and sort of personal since it flew off with one of the resident magpies. I felt sorry for the magpie but the hawk also has to eat. I guess the hawk is the reason for us having very few small birds around the garden. We feed the birds in winter and love having them so we've wondered about why they didn't like us any more. The hawk has visited the spruce often since then. He sits on top and scout the area. The magpies cower near the trunk on the low branches, poor things. We miss their busy chatter and loud quarrels. but we're not going to let the hawk know he's not welcome. We now call him Haukulf and wonder where he is if we don't see him. I'm hoping to get a photo of him, but I've had no luck so far.
What a remarkable story, Droo. That was a pretty dramatic sequence! I wish that we had one of those hanging around our lottie. They are such lovely creatures. Your tits and other smaller birds ought to be safe if your feeding stations are closer to the ground. I feed my birds lower than most folks exactly because of the torenvalken. If the little birdies are feeding lower down, it doesn't seem to want to take a chance on an air strike. Cherish your visitor,
Wow, no wonder you were staring open-mouthed! That was really something to see. We have hawks that visit our pasture daily, but not the bird feeders. One feeder is under a tree, and both feeders are close to a fence. Our suet feeders are more in the open, but close to the house. We were told by an ornithologist that hawks want a clear flight pattern, both in and out of a strike. The house, tree, and fence interrupt their route, so they stay away from the birds on the feeders.
I've also witnessed a hawk stalking my birdfeeders, and recently I have found 3 different piles of feathers around the yard My birdfeeder was moved towards the house, right on top of the railing and the birds feel safer there. They can get underneath the deck for protection. As much as I like to see the hawks, I wish they would stick with catching the fieldmice.
Your right about everyone having to eat...a story of survival indeed. When we lived at our last home I was washing the dishes and I had a perfect view of all of our bird feeders and I was able to watch all of the squirrels we had...we had more than a dozen. One squirrel was hanging on the wire going to reach one of the feeders and all of a sudden he was gone...it was so fast and if I blinked, I would of missed it. A large hawk came swooping down and took off with one of our squirrels. I quickly ran out on the deck and to where I thought he landed and quickly scared the hawk off....a few days past and once again I was at the sink doing dishes and along came a squirrel and he hung on the wire again. On this squirrels stomach were marks from where the hawk had picked it up the day or so before. It looked sore but I am sure he felt extra lucky because I had run out and scared the hawk away that day. I was just glad I was looking outdoors when this happened...
Our sparrow hawks are super efficient in flying through trees to chase small birds. They are so agile that it's almost beyond belief at how quickly they can change direction and miss colliding with anything in their paths. I have seen them plucking and eating their prey on our lawn but haven't actually seen a kill. I do feel sorry for the birds they catch but I don't begrudge them a meal especially during winter and the breeding season.
Yes Droopy I know just how you feel. Yes I know they have to eat. But they can go to farm across the way and eat all the pigeons they want. Yesterday the Coopers hawk came swooping in and landed in the maple tree that over hangs our stationary feeder. There was a Red Bellied woodpecker and a downy woodpecker who had stopped to dine on some suet. As soon as the hawk showed up they froze on the trunk of the tree. They actually sat on the opposite side so the hawk could not see them. He flew to the other side of the tree and they quickly moved to the opposite side so he once again did not see them. Phewwwwwww He looked around and then flew away. The woodpeckers resumed their activities. But where always glancing up to see if he was coming back.
I've moved the suet feeder into the chaos we call a border to the north. The birds were watching me as I moved it and tucked right in. Two of our feeders are already on the veranda, but I fear the small birds are afraid to fly up there so I'm thinking of moving the peanuts into the chaos as well. The bird tray has a roof so it should be ok I hope. We've got a sparrow hawk near the stables. That thing can fly! Yesterday afternoon we had two white tailed eagles circling above our house. One was so low we could count the wing feathers and really see the white tip of the tail feathers. They're big and beautiful and I got star struck all over again.
I wonder if that white-tailed bird that you saw so well was a "Sea Eagle". If so.....I am waaaaaaaay jealous. We call them "zeearend" (Haliaeetus albicilla). I hope that your lil birdies will be safe down in the Chaos.
Yes Sjoerd, that's the one. They nest not far from here. They're so big we fear for our little cat. *lol* But they are so majestic to watch.
Droopy I just googled Sea Eagle and they are beautiful. They look similar to our Bald Eagles. Sounds like you are taking precautions to keep your little birds safe. The only bird we have around hear that makes me keep an eye on our little dog is the Great Horned Owls that frequent the property behind us. The Hawk has been back everyday this week so far. Yesterday he slammed into the bottom of our picture window while chasing a bird. YIKES! I was glad he did not injure himself, or that he captured any birds for his lunch.
Oh, owls! You are so lucky. We've got owls around here too, but we rarely see them. Poor hawk. I hope he recovered ok and found his lunch somewhere else.
