Saturday, August 9, 2014

On the Lookout

At the beginning of the week smoke from California's forest fires drifted northward.  We had some intense sunsets as a result.

We've had lots of hawk activity the past week or so.

We have both Cooper's Hawk and Sharp-shinned Hawks.  

They look very similar except for their tail.

This might well be a Sharp-shinned Hawk as the tail has a notch in the center.

This is a Cooper's Hawk as the end of the tail is straight across.

It has a rather magnificent tail.

The birds' reaction to the hawks continues to amaze me.  
First off we always hear the Jays' Early Warning Alarm System.  
Most of the birds then immediate fly and duck for cover. But there are exceptions.  This photo shows a large group of tiny Goldfinches mobbing a hawk.  And yes they were successful and drove away the much larger bird!  

One year ago today Mom, my sister, and I visited Southwark Cathedral, the Borough Market, the Shard, and took in "The Sound of Music" at Regent's Park. 

5 comments:

Margaret said...

That's pretty cool that the goldfinches gang up against the hawk to drive him away!

linda said...

We've seen mockingbirds dive-bombing the owl as he perches as looks over the territory. The mockingbirds are loud and relentless, but the owl doesn't move until he is ready.

cucki said...

:)
Beautiful x

Barb said...

Wonderful hawk photos. When we lived in NY a hawk few by our feeder and snatched a little bird. My kids were young at that time. We were so sad. My Dad was visiting and told us that was just nature's way! We were still sad.

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

ha ha goldfinches are so noisy they probably hurt his ears! Good for those plucky little finches! :)