Feathers and Fuzz

one woman's cure for the empty-nester blues

Hawks

Birds Freeze When Hawk Is In The Area

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There are multiple ways to know a hawk is in the area:

  • You see a hawk (often perched close to your bird feeder/s).
  • A group of Crows is carrying on and flying-at something in a fixed area.
  • A Blue Jay is sounding the hawk alarm (or he's sounding a false alarm so he can have the feeder to himself).
  • You have a number of bird feeders, and there's not a bird to be seen.
  • Birds are on your feeders, but they are not moving -- at all.

The multi-view picture shown here is the simultaneous display from eight of my cameras.  There's not one bird in sight.  It's interesting how often this is the case immediately after I put fresh bird food out.  Hawks are not dumb!

Empty Feeders

The two sets of camera snapshots below show the "freezing" behavior birds exhibit when a hawk threatens.  The photo captions show the start and end time of this behavior.  The second set of photos is particularly interesting, I think.  For seven full minutes, a Titmouse perches motionless on top of the feeder -- and a Chipping Sparrow stands, with its head rotated 180 degrees, without so much as an eye-blink.

It's all about survival.  Too bad the birds don't know a hawk can't get to them inside the "cage".

Downy - Hawk Start

Downy at 4:09pm

Downy - Hawk End

Downy at 4:13pm

Hawk in Area Start

2:44pm

Hawk in Area End

2:51pm

I learned virtually everything I know about hawks from my friend, Debbie.  Well, with one exception.  I have not learned to drive with my eyes fixed on the sky instead of the road, although decades of practice made Debbie an expert.  It seems fitting to publish this post on the day of Deb's Memorial Service in Vermont.  I will be there, along with all of her family and other friends, honoring the memory of a most-special person.

Dedicated to Deborah Ann Kerr

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The feathers are busy creating Brood #2.  I know the Carolina Wrens stuck a nest somewhere after I chased them out of the boxes waiting outside for trash pickup -- don't know where they went from there.  Wrens!  The "urban" Bluebird pair produced their fifth egg of Brood #2 today.  Momma Phoebe is sitting on 4 eggs for her round #2.  Meanwhile, Momma Titmouse has welcomed five hatchlings.

While we're waiting for the stories to mature around this month's youngsters (PLEASE no more bears!!), I thought I'd keep my promise to share a detailed look at the upside-down take-off of the male Scarlet Tanager.  I chose to feature this video today because I know how much my friend, Debbie, loved seeing wildlife in the detail revealed by these cameras.

My Friend, Debbie

If not for my friend, Debbie, there would be no Feathers and Fuzz blog.  It was Debbie's knowledge and keen awareness of nature that drew me into looking at, and appreciating, the details of God's beautiful creation.  I know Debbie acquired her love of nature from her mom -- our "expert resource" when we were stumped trying to identify a bird species we had never seen before.  What a beautiful gift to give your child.

Wherever we went, Debbie was always stopping and pointing.  She would stop at an animal track in the mud and tell me a fox had been around.  Naturally, I didn't even see the track -- let only have a clue what left it!  When Debbie heard a bunch of Crows carrying on, high in the trees, she would say:  "There must be a hawk around."  Sure enough -- the Crows would chase a hawk out into the open.  (Now, I have to say, Debbie's fascination with hawks was very unsettling if you were a passenger in her car.  I swear she could pick out every hawk on every tree and every wire.  She would then follow the flight of that hawk -- much more interested in identifying it than paying attention to the road.)

Over this past year, as I wrote about the escapades of the feathers and the fuzz, I would often reflect on how many of those moments Debbie and I experienced together.  Every once in a while, it even got to where I saw something before Debbie did -- and you can bet I boasted about it!  Debbie was at my house a lot these past two years, after her breast cancer diagnosis, as my house was much closer to her doctors.

Today I got the call.  My dear friend has moved on past this life.  The tracks she left on my heart can not be washed away by any force of nature.  I hate that she won't be here to help me chase bumble bees out of bird houses, or screw acrylic to houses mounted 15' up in the air, but I will carry her with me everywhere I wander through the beautiful gift that is God's creation.

Thank you, Debbie, for opening my eyes.

Deborah Ann Kerr