Weekend Birding: Ruffled Feathers
A few weeks ago I heard a thump on the patio door and when I went to see who was knocking, I found a very annoyed hawk sitting on my deck. I slowly opened the door to see if the bird was injured. When she saw me she quickly got up and flew to the top of the garage. Had the bird been hurt I would have called the wildlife rehabilitation center for assistance.
I am pretty sure this is a juvenile female Sharp-shined Hawk. Coopers Hawks and Sharp-shins look a lot alike but the placement of the eye near the center of the relatively small head and the lack of white tips on the tail tell me it’s probably a Sharp-shined. Females are significantly larger than males and this hawk was about a foot tall, a male would be a few inches shorter. The yellow eye tells me this bird is young. Adults have red eyes.
She sat atop the garage for about 5 minutes, feathers ruffled and ego bruised, but otherwise appeared to be alright. Then she flew into a neighbor’s tree. I saw her again a few days later but this time she stayed clear of the door. I have several bird feeders and lots of little birds in my yard which attracts hawks looking for a quick snack.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
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Under My Apple Tree 
What a wonderful thing to happen. I can’t think of anyone else who has had a hawk come knocking! Perhaps they knock all the time but only do it when I’m not home? Great shot too.
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love this shot, need to show it to my budding nine year old ornithologist!
i recently saw a hawk swoop down on its hapless prey, a tiny bird – both birds were in-flight and it happened in a split second right as i was backing out of my driveway..it was an awesome sight to see..
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Yes, nature in action. It really is magnificent to watch, although not so good for the little bird.
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For some reason, the mussed up feathers on her head make her look like an adolescent too. I love to see hawks, even though it puts the little birds in danger. Here’s Mine
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Great title—ruffled feathers. Impressive bird, too. I think I would have been a bit frightened, but then I startle easily…lol
Great shot! Here’s MY SATURDAY SNAPSHOT POST
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The don’t attack people, well, not usually. If I didn’t know that the large beak and claws would have scared me away.
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What a majestic creature! I saw a hawk perched on our deck one day and hollered for Vance to bring the camera but the hawk flew away before he got there.
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Even though I’m accustomed to hawks in the yard it’s always a bit of shock to see one perching on the deck rail. Too bad it didn’t wait for your camera to arrive.
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Sounds like that bird needs glasses! I think it’s wonderful to find a hawk in your garden. Yes, maybe it’s after one of the other birds, but bird paradise in your garden shouldn’t be exclusive to seed-eating birds only!
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My patio doors face south and if the sun hits at just the right angle there’s a lot of reflection so the bird probably didn’t realize it was glass. Being young and inexperienced probably didn’t help.
They definitely hunt the little birds. But that’s the way nature works. They hunt the bunnies too. I’ve watched hawks sit patiently in the tree and observe the feeder, waiting for the right moment to strike. I’ve also found clumps of feathers as evidence.
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About ten miles down the road from us we have a place called wild and free where you can take injured wild life. We took a large bird once… I cant remember what kind it was but after it was healed they let us pick it up and release back where we found it…. pretty cool.
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Same here, they will bring the animal back to where it was found and release it. If it can’t go back in the wild they will keep it at the wildlife center.
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How cute is he — looks very young.
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what a surprise to find a hawk at your door! Great story though, and hopefully you get to see her a few more times 🙂 Book Savvy Babe
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I always know when she is in the yard. The little birds dive into the shrubs and start chirping and calling like crazy to warn the other birds.
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What an interesting episode. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had been attacked or frightened by some other birds. I heard a story about how a few magpies attack a bald eagle, scaring her off their territory. Thanks for another close-up bird photo.
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Something could have scared her. There are few very aggressive Blue Jays that hang around my yard and they wouldn’t hide from a hawk. Or she could have been chasing a bird that was on the deck railing. Lucky for her she didn’t hit too hard and was only stunned. I’ve had a few little birds that weren’t so lucky.
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We have chicken hawks in our yard all the time, but I’ve never seen a hawk that looks like that. It’s a great looking bird!!
Here’s my Saturday Snapshot
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This is a smaller bird than the chicken hawk which we call a Red-tailed Hawk. I’ve had a few of those in my yard but they don’t go after the little birds, they like the squirrels and rabbits, especially in the summer when they have a nest of hungry little hawks to feed.
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Oh my! Glad she was ok…love it that she has an annoyed look on her face 🙂
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Gosh, that’s amazing. I thought you only found hawks in really wild place. I have a photo of a swan in the floods – not as rare as a hawk! My Snapshot is at http://goo.gl/zAoio
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As more people put out bird feeders the hawks have been moving into the backyards.
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How beautiful!
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Great shot! Must’ve been pretty cool to see him so close up.
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*her*
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I am always thrilled with your amazing bird photos and information. I love watching birds, but we don’t get many in our yard. We have a large black and white Tuxedo cat who lives with us and though he is rarely outdoors, he sits at the window nearly constantly. I think he must scare them away. Here is my Snapshot Saturday post for today
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What a beautiful shot. A few weeks ago I saw a hawk eating a small rodent roadkill right in the middle of a busy road! But people were being nice and slowing down and did not run the bird over.
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She is beautiful!
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Gosh. Do you think some of these birds know that your taking photos, and are calling on you?
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A gorgeous close-up…well captured Leslie 🙂
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Bear With me….great story and photo♫
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