Hi, Tweeters! I'm new to the list and this is my first posting. Yesterday
was VERY windy in our yard and there was a lot of activity when it came to
the birds. At about 12:00 I went outside with my scope to see what kinds
birds were out. There were many juncos in the yard, house finches on the
hopper feeder, and Black-capped chickadees in the trees. I was looking at 3
robins flying by when I heard a panicked junco's alarm note. When I looked,
just after the junco called, I saw nothing. Then I looked up and about 10' up
was a Sharp-shinned Hawk, being pounded by the wind. Above him was a single
crow with two missing primaries from his right wing, following him. I watched
him until he flew behind some trees and it started to rain. My scope isn't
waterproof, so I had to go in then.
In a few hours I went back outside. There were the same birds out
there, doing the same thing. Then I saw a big "mob" of crows. I thought that
the Sharpie would be in the middle, but it wasn't. While I was watching the
crows I heard a bunch of noise behind me. When I turned around I saw the
Sharpie dive into a tree after a junco, with the same crow above him. My only
explanation for the crow behavior is that they were "playing" with the wind.
I've seen this before, and it always seems to be windy when it happens. Any
comments?
Later in the afternoon, I saw two Sharpies, probably an adult and an
immature, flying about 50' up. All in all, it was a fairly productive day.

Birdking88 at aol.com
Charlie W. Wright
Sumner, WA
Age 10