May 11, 2006 - In hot pursuit of hawksThe Suffolk Times • May 11, 2006
In hot
pursuit
of hawks
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IHIS HAS BEEN A weeK oI nawKS.
First and most spectacular was an
eagle sitting on our windmill. What
brought our attention to it were the
two crows we saw dive - bombing it.
"Quick, go get your camera!" I called,
and off Barbara went in hopes of
catching this unusual visitor. Then a
series of disappointments followed us
through the week; the prize atop our
windmill decided it wasn't going to
take any more crow harassment and
so it flew away.before Barbara could
get back with the
camera. Disap-
pointment No. Focus
1. I wonder if it O N
might have been
the same eagle NATURE
that was re-
ported recently by Paul
on Shelter Is- Stoutenburgh
land. You never
realize how big
Suffolk Times photo by Paul
eagles are unnl you get a chance to
see them in real life. We've had red -
tailed hawks and ospreys sit atop our
50 -foot windmill, but never an eagle.
The second disappointment was
Barbara's alone; one she says she'll
never forget. It was the appearance
of a sharp - shinned hawk diving on a
cardinal that was feeding on our pa-
tio. The cardinal, in utter terror, tried
to escape and in that moment flew
into the window Barbara was looking
through. She said the hawk's attack
was within feet of her as she stood
and watched nature's raw side.
Evidently, when the hawk saw her
through the window, it stopped in mid
air just a few feet from her, quickly
veered and flew away, leaving one
stunned cardinal and one amazed
Barbara. After the attack, she imme-
diately rescued the bird just in case
the hawk decided to come back for
its morning meal. It was still alive but
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iiooxed as if it was dead so we decide
to put it off to the side under a low
branch of an evergreen and hope for
the best. An hour later I passed by
where we had left our stunned victim
and it was gone. Hopefully it flew
away, a bit shaken but alive and free.
Our third encounter with hawks
came Monday morning around 7 a.m.
when my son on his way to work saw
a red - tailed hawk eating a rabbit it
had caught just 10 feet off the road.
He called us and we were there in no
time in hopes of getting a truly dra-
matic photo. It was a mad dash, with
unbuttoned jackets flying in the wind
and two anxious photographers rush-
ing off in hopes of getting something
special for our weekly article.
We headed for the designated spot
where the hawk had been seen but
instead of finding our prize with its
rabbit kill, a huge lumber truck had
parked exactly where the action had
taken place. Of course, the hawk had
flown a safe distance away and was
now perched on a pole in the nearby
vineyard, its early - morning meal still
by the roadside, only partially eaten.
What a disappointment to see that
lumber truck parked right where we
had hoped to capture our great pho-
tograph. We waited in the car for the
truck to leave, but, no, it just stayed
there. In the meantime, our hawk flew
away to, I assume, a less - traveled road.
While we are on the subject of at-
tacks by hawks, I'd like to tell you
about an incident that just happened
to me as I worked in the garage get-
ting the lawnmower ready for its first
cutting. It all began with my hearing
unusual calls coming from under the
eaves of the garage. Years ago, I had
put a birdhouse there and each year a
house sparrow has raised its young in
that protected spot.
The reason I say "protected spot" is
that raccoons have learned that with
the standard birdhouse, attached to a
tree or fence_ post, they can climb up
and get a meal of eggs or young. The
power of raccoons is never quite ap-
preciated until you see how a raccoon
is set on getting a meal from one of
those birdhouses. They literally rip the
top, front or bottom off so they can
enjoy a meal of young sparrows, and
if that fails, they will rip the birdhouse
from its attachment to let it crash to
the ground, where they can work on it
more easilv.
Why am I telling you all this? It
goes back to the birdhouse I put up
under the eaves of the garage so Mr
or Mrs. Raccoon couldn't get to it.
For years it has been in this location .
protected from the wrath of the ma-
rauding raccoon, but now the sto
changes. What I found
causing those unusual
calls of grief was a blue
jay fluttering in front
of the opening of the
birdhouse, trying to ex-
tract the baby sparrows
inside.
The desperate calls
came from the parent sparrows as
they tried in vain to chase the blue jai
away from their precious young. We
must remember that blue jays belong
to the family of crows, and everyone
knows crows are ruthless predators
on young birds and eggs. I can vouch
for this because at the beginninla of
Suffolk Times photo by Barbara
sue nesung season 1 check out the
birds nesting along the hedgerow of
our pasture. Many robins nest there.
Sometimes I'll find three or four nests
at the beginning of the season, then
I'll hear and see the parent birds try-
ing t6protect their nests from those
villains, the crows, who
are bent on having rob-
in's eggs or young for
breakfast. So this tale of
crows (and jays) is well
documented.
And so, that aggres-
sive blue, jay that gob-
bles up your sunflower
see at your feeder is actually a villain
in disguise, and one we'll just have to
live with.
P.S. — The lilacs are in bloom, which
means the weakfish should be running
and the horseshoe crabs should be
starting to show up along our sandy
beaches to lay their eees.
That aggressive blue
jay that gobbles up
your sunflower seed
is actually a villain
in disguise.