[bcbirdclub] Very Small Sharp-shinned
- From: "Roger Mayhorn" <rmayhorn@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "BCBC Listserve" <bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 6 Dec 2013 20:53:32 -0500
Today while talking on the phone I was standing at the window looking out over
my yard pond. Suddenly, birds came flying from my seed feeder which was just
out of sight to the right. Behind them, just a couple of feet above the pond,
came a very small hawk carrying what looked like a Junco. The hawk dropped to
the ground with its prey a few feet behind the pond. I could see that it was an
immature Sharp-shinned. It sat there for a few moments then lifted and flew a
few more feet before dropping to the ground again. It seemed to be having
trouble carrying the bird. I believe that this was one of the smallest possibly
the smallest hawk I have ever seen. It seemed to be smaller than a Mourning
Dove, but there was no doubt about the ID. It was probably just a very small
male. The hawk then lifted and managed to fly with its dinner up into a tree
below the yard. After about 10 minutes there it went deeper into the woods.
I have been finding patches of bird feathers around the yard lately, so this
little guy may be responsible, though one of the patches was from a dove. I
would think it would be difficult for this little fellow to take down a dove,
though I have heard of American Kestrels, which are roughly dove size, doing
that.
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt
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