Subject: [Tweeters] Robin has a ring side seat for a coopers hawk
Date: Apr 16 12:40:58 2007
From: nina - neens at wavecable.com


Personally, I think they do have favorite perches! I'm extremely n ew
to birding, but I have a guy/gal (I think a prarie flacon - matches my
fold-out ID guide... - see here:
http://westernimagphoto.smugmug.com/gallery/2290326) - this gorgeous
thing hangs out in the tip tops of the fir trees around the
neighborhood. We live at the end of a culdesac, it's very quiet and
private back here. I see him quite often by the large drainage ponds
across the street in the morning when I walk my dog, and perched in the
top of the fir on the border of my neighbor's yard - most of the day,
alternating with some very large firs across the street (probably 2
acres distance from the house).

I work from home a lot, and have feeders on my porch. Just outside the
rail of my porch is a weeping pussywillow - he likes to stop by this
tree from time to time. Everyone hides in the branches while he peers
ominously into the depths - then he'll go on the ground, and flutter his
wings hopping up to try and flush some poor rube out of the tree for his
snack. The appearances by my porch are not so numerous that he's
feeding specifically off my feeder friends, I'd say he lands here about
1x every three weeks, but I see him daily flying here/there across the
treetops between those earlier mentioned spots. :O) When he does
decide to munch from my bunch here (or try to), once he's gone, EVERYONE
is aflitter and singing/chirping/chattering with the news of what
happened.

Nina
Silverdale/Bremerton


Rob Sandelin wrote:

> During a sunbreak today I sat and listened to the bird music for
> awhile. There were lots of robins about. A series of robins alarm
> call made me open my eyes and a coopers hawk landed in a tree just
> above where a robin was perched. The hawk craned its neck to look down
> at the robin and then the hawk started doing its kakakaka call. The
> hawk then changed position, hopped over a branch and twisting its head
> sideways, looked right at the robin and did the call again. The
> robin, perhaps very wisely, stood still as a statue. After two more
> rounds of calls the hawk then circled the tree, calling some more.. A
> second hawk, and I presume its mate since I have seen two hawks
> together over the last week, then flew into the tree and landed on the
> exact same branch as the first hawk had, and it too began calling,
> with a slightly higher pitched tone. I was glued to the scene and kept
> expecting one of the hawks to nab the robin. The first hawk landed in
> a neighboring tree and the two hawks called back and forth while the
> robin continued its statue act. Finally the hawk perched in the robin
> tree flew off and was immediately followed by the other, both calling
> back and forth as they flew out of sight in the trees. The robin
> stayed frozen for another couple of minutes and I thought perhaps
> maybe it was suffering from shock when it suddenly bolted with a loud
> series of squawks, as if to say, "oh my god I am alive! " I could
> still hear the hawks in the distance on and off for several more
> minutes. Several Robins then started chattering, perhaps all spreading
> the gossip of what just happened.
>
> Interestingly, a couple sunbreaks later I was out and about and
> noticed that a hawk was perched in the same location as before. I
> began to wonder if hawks have favorite perches which they use over and
> over? Of course this time, there were no robins around.
>
> Rob Sandelin
> Naturalist, Writer
>
>
>
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