Photo Credit: Abdoozy at en.wikipedia
“Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.”
- Albert Schweitzer
When I started gardening for wildlife, I was excited to see each new species. We moved around the food chain from mammals to birds, 
amphibians, reptiles, insects, birds and so on. And as a new critter made the scene, someone else followed who preyed on them. That is nature and you accept it. Maybe that is why I loved it when we saw the snakes arrive. They might take care of the voles who destroy my garden or the mice that sneak in the house….ewww! Mice belong outside. And the sight of triplet fawns sent my heart to racing as this was a clear indication of a healthy habitat. Not that my garden is safe with 3 more deer, but gosh they are so cute. And our newest visitor is a chipmunk who keeps popping into the garage to see what’s in there to eat-nothing so stay outside!
But what we had been missing from our habitat were birds of prey. We saw these majestic birds from time to time, but always from a distance. We have seen owls, turkey vultures, red tailed hawks and eagles. Some would perch on the fringe of the garden, but most just flew over circling catching the thermals and updrafts.
There is so much bird activity in my back yard that many days I need an air traffic controller to avoid mid air collisions. So I was not surprised to see a flash of feathers fly by one day. But something told me this was no ordinary visitor. My brain knows the shape and color of most visitors and alerts me when someone new ventures into the garden. This bird swooped into one of the ash trees near the gazebo. As I looked I knew this was a bigger bird than normally perches in our trees. But who was this?
He didn’t stay long and flew to another ash tree at the back of the garden still too far away for a picture. Next he flew to the largest ash tree in the center of the garden followed closely by squawking birds. I snapped a quick picture and then he was gone. Now my camera from indoors or on the patio is not capable of catching clear photos that far away so I was left with a grainy image and no idea who this was? I had a suspicion it was a small bird of prey so of course I started to dig out bird books and search online. Still I was unsure.
About a week later the pattern repeated itself almost exactly and I figured that this bird was scouting
out the area for good vittles, namely other birds. This time he stayed a bit longer in the nearest tree and the image was a bit better. This was either a Cooper’s or Sharp-shinned Hawk. After a bit more detective work, it was clear we had been visited by a Sharpie or Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus).
These small hawks are the most common found in backyards who prey on birds from robins to finches and especially new fledglings. So he must of heard the commotion or noticed the activity from across the street in the denser woods where they nest. Of course if he wants to thin out the house sparrow population I won’t stop him (sorry but they breed like rabbits and need a bit of thinning out as they take over native bird houses and prime nesting spots). Here are some interesting facts about Sharpies.
- The smallest hawk in North America
- Acrobatic fliers rushing through dense woods at high speeds by using their long tail as a rudder
- Females are 1/3 larger than males
- Slate blue-gray above, horizontal red-orange narrow bars on the breast
- Numbers declined from the mid-1940s to 1970s, the DDT pesticide years, but rebounded after DDT was banned
- Can be found throughout much of North America
- Migrate south from Canada in the fall although they can be found in my area 12 months of the year
- They also prey on small rodents, such as mice and voles
- Have one brood of 3-8 eggs; adults sit on eggs for 1 month and hatchlings stay in the nest for another 3-4 weeks
- Build a flat nest out of small twigs lined with bark at the top of conifers
- Surprise their prey by bursting out from a hidden perch
- Hunt at forest edges and backyard bird feeders-may need to take feeders down for a while if they visit
- Lonesome high pitched call
These are the precious trees in my garden and nearby. Many are native ash trees that the critters depend upon. I will be blogging next time about the almost certain demise of these trees in NY because of non-native invaders.
© 2012, Donna Donabella. All rights reserved. This article is the property of BeautifulWildlifeGarden.com If you are reading this at another site, please report that to us
About Donna Donabella
Charming post. Sounds a lot like our back yard, except our trees are oaks and tulip poplars. Coopers or Sharp Shinned hawks (I am not sufficiently expert to tell which) have help themselves to our bird feeder as both species are ‘bird hawks.’ But the mention of triplet fawns really caught my attention, as we have three ‘bambies’ this summer! I have been wondering if a doe could actually carry three! So, I gather they can.
Thanks Marty so glad you enjoyed the post. I decided against feeders because we have too many predators here. I was shocked to see the triplets and did some research. I cannot even imagine how they can carry them, but they can. I will say one of the does was huge this spring so that may have been the one. They are just adorable. I included them on my regular blog post today. How incredible you have see 3 as well.
Donna Donabella recently posted..Gardens Eye Journal-August 2012
We had a small bird of prey passing thru the garden – just saw the dark flash of wings, the shape of the bird and the more leisured effective flight, sets even the human alarm bells ringing.
Diana of Elephant’s Eye recently posted..Lughnasa flowers for Annie
Diana that is exactly how it was…something told me this was someone to watch out for especially with all the new fledglings.
Donna@Gardens Eye View recently posted..Gardens Eye Journal-August 2012
Nice story, Donna. Happy for you to have added a new & exciting visitor to your wildlife garden.
Kathy @nativegardener recently posted..California’s White Sage of the Chaparral
Thanks Kathy. I was very excited. I am sure if I had feeders he would be staying longer.
Donna@Gardens Eye View recently posted..Gardens Eye Journal-August 2012
Ooooh. We get red-shoulders as our yard predators here—I envy you the sharpie!
Ursula Vernon recently posted..Found On Water Barrel
Thx Ursula. He or she was so cool and to visit more a couple of times was even better. I have some mighty aggressive birds in the garden so they took care of him, but I love seeing him come back.
Donna@Gardens Eye View recently posted..Gardens Eye Journal-August 2012
Oh Donna!
Congratulations on your new addition. Your garden is evolving and reading each week about the new visitors is so much fun. Your commitment to nature is inspiring!
Loret T. Setters recently posted..It Just Never Goes Away
Thanks Loret…and I am learning so much from you! I saw our Sharpie now 2 days in a row as he whizzed by in pursuit of sparrows…so I guess all the house sparrows that I couldn’t control are now being controlled and food for the Sharpie.
Donna@Gardens Eye View recently posted..Gardens Eye Journal-August 2012
Listen to your windows Donna..sharpies will use the house especially the windows to drive a bird inot and then grab it.. It would be lovely if they took more HOSP-house sparrows…but my rehabber friend told me that they must not taste good as they aren’t taken as often as others..Oh well..great post.. Michelle..
Rambling Woods recently posted..Release Day For Two Monarch Butterflies August 13, 2012
Good to know…how clever of them actually and too bad they don’t like HOSP.
Donna Donabella recently posted..Bloom Day a Bust-Almost
I believe you may find that the Sparrow Hawk is the smallest raptor in North America. The Sharp Shinned is the smallest accipiter. I enjoyed your post. Why do you like Ash trees? Do they produce anything edible for wildlife?
Harry thanks for the information. There are so many differing references so I love to learn others. Harry check out native white ash tree information here:
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=FRAM2
They are indeed very important to wildlife and do provide food for many critters. They also provide shelter and make up a majority of hard woods in the forests in my area. I will be featuring them this week as we face their demise and with it the loss of habitat and food for a lot of wildlife.
Donna@Gardens Eye View recently posted..Bloom Day a Bust-Almost