I think Walmart needs to hire someone interested in birding because they have a labeling problem in the meat department.
It must be an oriental thing. Deep fried chicken paws.
It must be an oriental thing. Deep fried chicken paws.
Birding!
- Thread starter jjohnwm
- Start date
Yikes ! I will try almost anything in terms of food, at least once...and I'd probably try these as well...but that has to be one of the most repulsive-looking "food" items I have ever seen. 
So....the feeders continue to be swarming, mostly with Juncos right now but many other species are present as well, including a bunch more Fox Sparrows. This has attracted lots of attention from predators. We regularly see Cooper's and Sharpshinned Hawks (both Accipiters) as well as Kestrels (small falcons) watching and sometimes making attacks on the dinner crowd. Like most predators, they are only successful a small percent of the time.
This morning I was working in the yard, on the opposite side of the house from the main feeders. Little birds were everywhere. I was taking a break and just absently looking around when I spotted an adult male Sharpie flying along the treeline, roughly 100 yards from the house. He was too far to alarm the feeder birds, and he seemed to pay them no mind. He continued along the trees for a couple hundred yards as I watched, then banked around 90 degrees to the left and shot along in that direction for a distance that took him past the house. He then did another left turn, which put him on a course straight for me. He was obviously picking up speed. Very cool to watch the little speedster coming right at me across the open field, just above the bushes. He came all the way to the house at top speed, and as he passed between me and the house he banked left yet again, still pouring on the speed, essentially doing a tight 180-degree half-circle around the end of the building and only about 8 feet in the air. This meant that he burst around the last corner of the house only 30 feet from 50 or 60 small birds that didn't know he was there, heading straight for them at Mach II.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to actually see the hit, but as small birds scattered in every direction, the Sharpie must have plucked one out of midair without slowing down. He re-appeared in my field of vision at the far end of the house only a split-second later with his prize clutched in his talons and headed for the treeline. It happened so fast that he must have barely slowed down throughout the attack.
Stuff like this impresses the hell out of me. This tiny bird, the size of a Blue Jay, executed a cunning and well-planned maneuver that saw him scoping out the target from a distance, then building up speed as he approached in a giant loop, unseen by his quarry to take them by surprise. He hit the prey going fast, and yet was able to snatch it up and continue on without faltering, despite having suffered a high-speed collision with a prey item that probably weighed at least 20-25% of his own weight, and then added that much to his total weight as he continued still completely in control of his flight.
Look around you sometime in a crowd; you're surrounded by a lot of people who are flabby, overweight, out of shape and generally pretty poor specimens of the breed. Observations like this simple one in my backyard serve to remind me what incredible athletes all wild animals need to be...and are...just to go about their normal daily affairs.
So....the feeders continue to be swarming, mostly with Juncos right now but many other species are present as well, including a bunch more Fox Sparrows. This has attracted lots of attention from predators. We regularly see Cooper's and Sharpshinned Hawks (both Accipiters) as well as Kestrels (small falcons) watching and sometimes making attacks on the dinner crowd. Like most predators, they are only successful a small percent of the time.
This morning I was working in the yard, on the opposite side of the house from the main feeders. Little birds were everywhere. I was taking a break and just absently looking around when I spotted an adult male Sharpie flying along the treeline, roughly 100 yards from the house. He was too far to alarm the feeder birds, and he seemed to pay them no mind. He continued along the trees for a couple hundred yards as I watched, then banked around 90 degrees to the left and shot along in that direction for a distance that took him past the house. He then did another left turn, which put him on a course straight for me. He was obviously picking up speed. Very cool to watch the little speedster coming right at me across the open field, just above the bushes. He came all the way to the house at top speed, and as he passed between me and the house he banked left yet again, still pouring on the speed, essentially doing a tight 180-degree half-circle around the end of the building and only about 8 feet in the air. This meant that he burst around the last corner of the house only 30 feet from 50 or 60 small birds that didn't know he was there, heading straight for them at Mach II.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to actually see the hit, but as small birds scattered in every direction, the Sharpie must have plucked one out of midair without slowing down. He re-appeared in my field of vision at the far end of the house only a split-second later with his prize clutched in his talons and headed for the treeline. It happened so fast that he must have barely slowed down throughout the attack.
Stuff like this impresses the hell out of me. This tiny bird, the size of a Blue Jay, executed a cunning and well-planned maneuver that saw him scoping out the target from a distance, then building up speed as he approached in a giant loop, unseen by his quarry to take them by surprise. He hit the prey going fast, and yet was able to snatch it up and continue on without faltering, despite having suffered a high-speed collision with a prey item that probably weighed at least 20-25% of his own weight, and then added that much to his total weight as he continued still completely in control of his flight.
Look around you sometime in a crowd; you're surrounded by a lot of people who are flabby, overweight, out of shape and generally pretty poor specimens of the breed. Observations like this simple one in my backyard serve to remind me what incredible athletes all wild animals need to be...and are...just to go about their normal daily affairs.
I share your admiration and awe, especially when it comes to the Accipitriformes order. I not the bloodthirsty type, but the combination of cunning, power, speed, agility, etc. that a bird of prey exhibits is nothing short of amazing. Those flabby, overweight, out-of-shape people wouldn't be if they had to get their meals the way wild animals do.
It seems like I might have shared this experience before, but when my daughters were small, we caught a mouse in a live trap in the house. Because it was small, had big dark eyes and was "cute", the girls talked me into letting it go instead of feeding it to one of my snakes. We drove down the road about a mile and pulled over next to an open field. I took no notice of the utility pole and electric line overhead. The girls and I gallantly opened the trap and gave the mouse its freedom, watching in satisfaction as it scampered away. Before we could even turn back towards the car, a male Kestrel was angling up and away with the mouse in its talons. Probably watched the whole thing from the electric line overhead, delighted at its good fortune. The girls actually took it pretty well, I don't remember any tears. I do remember one of them saying in disbelief, "was that our mouse?", it all happened so smoothly and swiftly.
It seems like I might have shared this experience before, but when my daughters were small, we caught a mouse in a live trap in the house. Because it was small, had big dark eyes and was "cute", the girls talked me into letting it go instead of feeding it to one of my snakes. We drove down the road about a mile and pulled over next to an open field. I took no notice of the utility pole and electric line overhead. The girls and I gallantly opened the trap and gave the mouse its freedom, watching in satisfaction as it scampered away. Before we could even turn back towards the car, a male Kestrel was angling up and away with the mouse in its talons. Probably watched the whole thing from the electric line overhead, delighted at its good fortune. The girls actually took it pretty well, I don't remember any tears. I do remember one of them saying in disbelief, "was that our mouse?", it all happened so smoothly and swiftly.
Perzackly!
Kestrels are one of my all-time favourites. As the smallest of our falcons (actually in Falconiformes, I believe?) they were fairly common living and nesting right within the city where I grew up, and I have a Kestrel box in a place of honour here at home now. I've had several successful years of watching a pair of the little demons rear a clutch of young there, interspersed with more years of nothing. A couple of years the box was taken over by a single male Kestrel that I assumed was the dad from the previous year, only to watch the poor guy sit and wait and wait for his mate to return to join him. She didn't, and eventually he moved on. One year the pair occupied the nest only to have a second male intrude upon their bliss, resulting in fairly fierce competition for the lady. The original owner kept the nest...but the intruder kept the lady and moved on with her.
I am sitting in my easy chair in the den, watching my feeders, and I can just see my Kestrel box out in the pasture, about 200 yards away. Got my fingers crossed for it this year; I've already spotted a pair of Kestrels mating on the power line running right across the yard to the house, so my hopes are high...again...
As Gary Larson said in one of his immortal Far Side cartoon panels..."Birds of prey know they're cool".
Kestrels are one of my all-time favourites. As the smallest of our falcons (actually in Falconiformes, I believe?) they were fairly common living and nesting right within the city where I grew up, and I have a Kestrel box in a place of honour here at home now. I've had several successful years of watching a pair of the little demons rear a clutch of young there, interspersed with more years of nothing. A couple of years the box was taken over by a single male Kestrel that I assumed was the dad from the previous year, only to watch the poor guy sit and wait and wait for his mate to return to join him. She didn't, and eventually he moved on. One year the pair occupied the nest only to have a second male intrude upon their bliss, resulting in fairly fierce competition for the lady. The original owner kept the nest...but the intruder kept the lady and moved on with her.
I am sitting in my easy chair in the den, watching my feeders, and I can just see my Kestrel box out in the pasture, about 200 yards away. Got my fingers crossed for it this year; I've already spotted a pair of Kestrels mating on the power line running right across the yard to the house, so my hopes are high...again...
As Gary Larson said in one of his immortal Far Side cartoon panels..."Birds of prey know they're cool".
These hawks have given more indelible memories than most birds. Thanks for sharing your stories.
.
Sitting on the back stoep and watching the oscillating sprinkler cycle back and forth, I saw a Cooper's streak through a tree line at the of the back of the yard. Passing under a pine bough and less than two feet above the ground the accipiter turned instantly straight up closed it's wings and rode it's momentum to the necessary height then open his wings and glided over the top of the water sprinkles.
.
It happened in an instant.
Perhaps it was a Matrix sort of moment for the bird. Deftly noticing each droplet of water, the advancing line of grass blades dancing under their impact, his relative speed, position above the ground, the branches and me sitting there across the yard.
.
Certainly, there was no need for such distress. I suppose the maneuver was performed simply because it could be.
.
Sitting on the back stoep and watching the oscillating sprinkler cycle back and forth, I saw a Cooper's streak through a tree line at the of the back of the yard. Passing under a pine bough and less than two feet above the ground the accipiter turned instantly straight up closed it's wings and rode it's momentum to the necessary height then open his wings and glided over the top of the water sprinkles.
.
It happened in an instant.
Perhaps it was a Matrix sort of moment for the bird. Deftly noticing each droplet of water, the advancing line of grass blades dancing under their impact, his relative speed, position above the ground, the branches and me sitting there across the yard.
.
Certainly, there was no need for such distress. I suppose the maneuver was performed simply because it could be.
Yep...he knew he was cool, and he knew you were watching, and he just decided to show off.
The railing around my front deck consists of wooden upper and lower rails, with the only connection between the two being a series of thin vertical black metal bars, spaced 4 inches apart. On numerous occasions I have watched Chickadees, Juncos and other small birds attempting to evade a pursuing Sharpie by streaking through one railing, across the deck and then through the other, which requires them to fold their wings for a nanosecond as they go through the bars. They do it easily, never slowing down, hoping that the pursuing predator won't manage the maneuver.
Unfortunately for the small birds, these hawks are aerial masters and are able to duplicate these stunts without even breaking a sweat. Male Sharpies are about the size of a Jay, and they slip between the bars as easily as the Juncos, just tucking their wings in for an instant to keep from hitting the bar on each side. Female Sharpies are much bigger, and when they go through they invariably do a 90-degree rotation so that they are sideways to fit in the narrow space.
Last year we had a particular female Sharpie who took it a step further. She would rocket at the bars, spin 90 degrees clockwise to pass through the first set, with her feet pointing to the left, continue to rotate in the same direction so that she passed through the second set at 270 degrees with her feet pointing in the opposite direction, and then just continue the rest of the barrel-roll to get back to normal flight. This was all done so fast that it was difficult to even see; the only thing that allowed me to be sure was that her bright rust-coloured breast would be pointing straight upwards for a split-second in the centre of the maneuver.
I feel a bit sorry for the numerous birders who hate seeing hawks, shrikes and other predators in their yards. Those birds only succeed a small percentage of the time when launching these attacks, but their lives depend upon catching their prey often enough to make the energy expenditure worthwhile. They are not living an easy existence, and watching them succeed always gives me a thrill. I joke to my wife about putting out seed to attract "feeders"; she knows it's just nature at work, but she isn't a fan of the predators.
She's missing out...
The railing around my front deck consists of wooden upper and lower rails, with the only connection between the two being a series of thin vertical black metal bars, spaced 4 inches apart. On numerous occasions I have watched Chickadees, Juncos and other small birds attempting to evade a pursuing Sharpie by streaking through one railing, across the deck and then through the other, which requires them to fold their wings for a nanosecond as they go through the bars. They do it easily, never slowing down, hoping that the pursuing predator won't manage the maneuver.
Unfortunately for the small birds, these hawks are aerial masters and are able to duplicate these stunts without even breaking a sweat. Male Sharpies are about the size of a Jay, and they slip between the bars as easily as the Juncos, just tucking their wings in for an instant to keep from hitting the bar on each side. Female Sharpies are much bigger, and when they go through they invariably do a 90-degree rotation so that they are sideways to fit in the narrow space.
Last year we had a particular female Sharpie who took it a step further. She would rocket at the bars, spin 90 degrees clockwise to pass through the first set, with her feet pointing to the left, continue to rotate in the same direction so that she passed through the second set at 270 degrees with her feet pointing in the opposite direction, and then just continue the rest of the barrel-roll to get back to normal flight. This was all done so fast that it was difficult to even see; the only thing that allowed me to be sure was that her bright rust-coloured breast would be pointing straight upwards for a split-second in the centre of the maneuver.
I feel a bit sorry for the numerous birders who hate seeing hawks, shrikes and other predators in their yards. Those birds only succeed a small percentage of the time when launching these attacks, but their lives depend upon catching their prey often enough to make the energy expenditure worthwhile. They are not living an easy existence, and watching them succeed always gives me a thrill. I joke to my wife about putting out seed to attract "feeders"; she knows it's just nature at work, but she isn't a fan of the predators.
She's missing out...
