Links in the Food Chain

 Br-r-r-r.  It is finally getting cold here along the Ohio River in western West Virginia. Okay, I admit, it is only thirty degrees, but compared to the fifty degree days it feels pretty cool.  No more trips out to the feeder in my bare feet.  Yesterday I actually wore my slippers out and across the light snow covered grass.

I did very little else yesterday. There wasn't time to do much since I didn't feel well and didn't get out of bed until noon.  I didn't even write for this blog though I did spend a few hours writing for my "real" job.

While I was hunkered down over my computer yesterday the window darkened as two crows flew in landing below one of the feeders.

That meant it was time for a break to check out my front yard. What would be out there? 

The crows had settled in, picking bits and pieces out of the grass. . .

 . . . and generally striking fear into rapidly beating hearts of smaller birds . . .

 . . .who fled into the tree to wait out the crows. The crows on the ground were accompanied by the watch crow sitting on the roof of my house.  As it turned out, the crows may have saved one of these little birds, making each more wary of its surroundings.  While I was watching the activity around the feeder, I noticed another danger.

Skulking high in an oak across the road was a hawk. I think it was probably the red-shoulderd hawk that has frequented our feeders before. This one never had the chance to dine at the feeder today. I checked several times over the next hour. The hawk stayed at the same spot, moving only its head in search of a meal.

My emotions are torn as I feel good for the tiny tiny feeder birds while still worrying if the hawk eventually found its meal.   I want the hawk to survive the winter but most of what it eats I call, "cute." I know, though, that  that is the way of nature so I will do nothing else but go on feeding the chickadees, titmice, finches, cardinals . . .

. . .and the occasional hawk.

Hawks Watching

Yesterday I promised a  photo of our red-shouldered hawk.  One of the pair was flying over head trying to keep my attention away from the nest while I tried to thake his picture. I never did catch him (or her) but, thanks to my zoom lense, I did notice that I was also being watched from within the nest. 

You have to look closely. I included a picture of the hawk looking sideways so that you can see that tale-tell beak in case you don't believe me from seeing the direct-on photo. The hawk is well camoflauged in the nest.

The pair have been active in this nest at least 4 years.  We first noticed them when an imature hawk was standing beside our driveway watching us.  A parent screamed from a branch overhead until finally its offspring flew a short ways off and we drove on by. That year there were two young hawks that, for a week, kept appearing in the way of our car.  The hawks may have been there before, but I worked 40-60 hours a week and seldom noticed anything outside my office. 

I've enjoyed smaller birds this week as well.  Sunday, a pair of red-bellied woodpeckers chose the sugar maple in my front yard as their "date" tree.  The female was not a bit bothered by my car pulling up close by, but her male friend flew off across the yard to wait for me to go inside before returning to business. 

 She patiently waited for him, never leaving her spot.

Afterwards, they both enjoyed a good meal of sunflower seeds, taking turns at the feeder.

Most of the feeder's visitors have been regulars.  The squirrels and chipmonks are back now that the snow is gone.  I've been keeping the easily-accessable feeder almost empty to discourage the squirrells.  They can clean out a feeder too fast and I can't afford to supply their whole diet.   

The newest visitors are the grackels.  They are fun to watch as they attempt to crowd their larg body onto the bird feeder.  My feeder is equipped with a perch that closes off the food if the bird is too heavy.  It is meant to baffle a squirrel, but it also works for big birds. 

This one worked with the feeder a while until it finally decided it was easier to follow the lead of the mourning doves and scavenge the seeds from the ground.  He seems to be watching the dove to learn how to eat off the ground. Perhaps he is just deciding if he can "take" the dove and steal her food. He had better not try it.  She has six family members watching from a nearby pine tree.

Preparing for the Storm

I didn't have much time for walking yesterday.  We have a snow storm coming so, like the rest of humanity I headed to the grocery store to beat the storm.  That didn't work out so well considering the mass of people in the store but that is a story for someplace else.  On the way down our drive, I decided to check out the next of our local red-tail hawk pair. I was thrilled to see one of the pair perched atop the nest.

Another blog that I follow has been discussing the actions of a pair of hawks in New York City as they appear to be building a new nest.  According  to that blog hawks often stick to one nest though they might build a secondary nest before laying eggs. These birders aren't sure why, but think the reason may be to give the female a choice or just as a bonding ritual. Sometimes the pair will desert the first nest in favor of the second. Very soon it will be time for our hawks to be nesting if not already.  This hawk was very busy flying  away from the nest and back.  While I didn't see it carrying any twigs, that may be what was going on.

I don't know how to differentiate the male from the female so I don't know which this is.  Both sexes take part in "twigging,"  the building of the nest.

When the hawk returned to the nest it perched on the side then bent over, putting its head deep into the nest.  I am zoomed in as far as my camera will go, making it hard for me to keep the lense settled on the bird.  It also makes it hard for me to watch the bird outside of the camera lense but I did get in a few shots of the hawk at work.  The photo below shows the hawk, on the left, leaning down into the nest.  Look carefully to see the hawk that is well camouflaged.  I wonder now if the hawk is also preparing its home for the upcomning storm. While I cannot see a television antenna above the nest, I'm convinced that the birds know when a storm is coming; perhaps as well as I do.

 I will search for a better spot to photograph the birds so that we can see some photos as they sit eggs and raise some young.  This will be at least the third summer for this particular pair to nest at this site.

The hawk seems to be observing me as I observe it.  I don't stay long and soon head to the store to refill my own nest.