December 8, 2005 - Food, flight and feathersI OA • The Suffolk Times • December 8, 2005
Svnoik mleh uholos by Nsul SloUlenhurgh
Our red - tailed hawk is a superb glider. It can detect the slightest change in the lifting power of a thermal. On certain days, when the temperature and wind
are just right, you can see it circling on long, sweeping glides and moving to wherever the thermal gives it its magical gliding power. The red -tail is a fierce
hunter that spots its prey either from a perch in some dead tree or from high above while gliding In sweeping circles on a thermal, waiting patiently for some
unsuspecting vole or mouse or rat to show itself. Once spotted, the prey has little chance to escape the outstretched claws of the hawk.
Food, flight and feathers
COME AND HAVE LuNcH with Bar-
bara and me. Sure, we can make room
for you. We'll sit here in front of our
big picture window; it's where we have
most of our meals. You'll see just out-
side the window is a big screen lying
over our small garden -type pond. It
already has a coating of leaves on it;
they'll act as good insulation through
the winter for the fish below. We leave
the fish in all winter and, believe it or
not, they survive remarkably well.
Just past the edge of the pond,
you'll see the winter birdbath we've
resurrected from the cellar. It has an
electric heater in its bottom and it's
already kept the water from freezing.
The birds didn't take long to find it.
Yes, we feed the birds — mostly
sunflower seed, and for the ground
feeders, we spread a wild bird mixture
about. Look! You can see the white -
throated sparrows are back and are
enjoying the seeds we've put on the
ground for them.
One problem we have with putting
the wild birdseed out on the ground
is that our big rooster enjoys it also.
He's a rogue, a misfit. While all the
other chickens enjoy the comforts of
the chicken coop, feed and a plentiful
supply of water, he can only stand on
the outside and crow his heart out in
discontent. If we put him in with the
other chickens, the master rooster of
the coop would kill him.
As we sit and eat, the feeding sta-
tion at the end of the patio comes alive
with the continual flight
of chickadees, titmice and
white - breasted nuthatches, FO
each quickly snatching a
seed and flying away with ON
its prize. They don't go far
— the first limb will do.
Here they pound away on
the shell of their sunflower
seed until it yields its goody
inside. This, too, is chipped
away and eaten. They don't waste
any time in getting back and quickly
grabbing another seed and taking off.
Sometimes there's a near collision of
one bird coming and another one leav-
ing. What's that, you say? You've never
seen anything like it?
Then all of a sudden, there isn't a
bird in sight. What had happened? It's
a Cooper's hawk that just alighted in
that hickory tree — out by the garden.
We had been watching a pair of doves
perched together and enjoying them-
C
selves, but then when the hawk flew in
they quickly disappeared.
The glasses came out from under
the table so I could double -check this
woodland hunter as it surveyed the
area. This was a male Cooper's hawk,
with a gray back, rusty streaked breast
and a rather long tail that
gives it a distinct advantage
U S when hunting in the woods,
where sharp turns and
abrupt changes of direction
are needed. These are the
aids that make this hawk so
deadly.
Cooper's hawks are not
that common, so we spent a
good deal of time watching
it. After about 20 minutes, it must have
thought it was wasting its time and left.
I wonder if we'll see him again. It took
some time before any bird returned to
the feeders. We couldn't blame them.
With that terror about, who knows
who'd be next on his list for dinner.
All the while we were eating, none
of us had noticed the red - tailed hawk
atop the windmill. Almost every day
one and sometimes two sit up there.
And why not? It's the highest spot
to see from. As we talked, the hawk
NATURE
by Paul
Stoutenburgh
cuddly Ilon $25 • magic set $20
GALLERY NORTH
90 north country road, Setauket
631- 751 -2676
hours; mon. - thur. 105, 61. - sat, 10-6, sun. 12 -5
slipped away and with flapping wings
flew up to greet its mate, which had
captured a thermal and was lazily glid-
ing in great, sweeping circles above.
The hawk from the windmill also
caught the lifting power of the ther-
mal and the two hawks circled back
and forth, as if they were enjoying
some great waltz. We marveled at
their superb sweeping glides and how
they could sense the unseen thermals.
Rarely did they flap their wings, and if
they did, it was but two or three wing
beats. Round and round they went, all
with seemingly little effort. How light -
colored their under wings were and
how easy it was to see their rusty red
tail when they banked.
They performed their wonders of
aerial pursuit for 10 or 15 minutes and
then it was over. One drifted slowly
off to the southwest — the other came
back to its perch atop the windmill.
Was this just a showing of their every-
day hunting skills? Or was it just the
pure joy at having found an especially
good thermal that one hawk wanted
to share with its mate? To us it was the
latter, for it surely gave us all a rare
treat that awaits those who have the
patience and will to see.
Nichol Morizzo
(
Morizzo
1,
Julia
765 -6363
Ow twnph'h' 1,11011 101
H A I R S A L O N
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5475 Main Road • Southold
• UNIQUE FOILING
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Building R • Behind Ivy League Florist
• CREATIVE COLORING
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STYLES
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