My Back Yard: the Killing Ground

Today, I stayed home sick.  I wasn't feeling well, and fortunately I'm able to accomplish a fair amount of work by remote connection.  Even though I felt less than wonderful, I enjoyed being able to watch my feeders throughout the day - I was hoping for a visit from one of my local hawks, but I was disappointed in that regard.  So far this year, I've seen two adult Cooper's Hawks, one juvenile Coopie, one adult Sharp-shinned Hawk, and a Red-Tailed Hawk of unknown age.I took the attached photo last year and have posted it elsewhere in response to a listserv thread about why some hawks were seen with ice on their tailfeathers:  I think my photo explains the phenomenon quite well!

The hawks have made a few hits this season, all House Sparrows.  My feeders are like a House Sparrow buffet, and I don't mind decreasing the flock every now and then!  The Cooper's Hawks have, in the past, snacked on Starling (yay!) and Cardinal (boo!) and I'm always relieved to see my "cuter" birds come back to the feeder after the threat has passed.  I know that might not be the most PC thing to say, but I'm never going to be one of those clinical, science-above-all birders:  I like some birds better than others, and I dislike House Sparrows because they're mean, not because they're invasive.  I'm happy to say that they really, really dislike my new suet feeder:  the Woodpeckers, Chickadees, and Nuthatches seem to like the beef kidney suet just fine.   That means the House Sparrows stay in their little flock, picking the squirrel-spilled seed off the ground, making easy targets for my Hawkie friends.  And so it goes.