Durhamregion.com | NewsView Map | Photos | Videos | Goldbook | Faces 2009 Digital | Dating | Events | Flyers | Marketplace | Special Reports | Movies | Features

Birds of prey keep gentler pals away from feeders

Despite plenty of seeds no fine-feathered friends make appearance this winter

Feb 24, 2008 - 12:00 AM

By Margaret Carney

It’s always interesting to hear what’s showing up at bird feeders. And I’m glad I don’t often get calls like Pat Creighton’s.

She lives in Oshawa near the lake and keeps her feeders topped up with sunflower and niger seeds year-round. But since late November she hasn’t seen one bird in her yard -- no mourning doves, no cardinals, no house finches, no sparrows.

“Where are all the birds?” she asked me, clearly baffled. I was puzzled too, even as I pictured swift-flying predators swooping down on her busily feeding flocks, sending them off in a panic. Could a raptor spook local birds so badly they never come back?

Whatever elements may be at play in Pat’s neighbourhood, I know for a fact lots of readers have witnessed raptors paying surprise visits to their feeders. Sometimes the hungry hawks are successful at catching lunch and sometimes not. At times they sit around on a fence post afterward, providing photo ops. Many readers have e-mailed me pictures of hawks they wanted to identify or just to share.

Ninety-nine per cent of the time, it’s an accipiter, a family of raptors strong and agile enough to pursue fleeing songbirds through a woods and catch them. Long tails and short wings help them manoeuvre.

Though the three accipiter species are different sizes, telling them apart can be tricky, especially if you catch just a glimpse. Females are larger than males, providing a confusing gradient of sizes.

Also confusing is colouration. All adults have grey wings and backs, all juveniles brown, with brown-streaked breasts. They all have banded tails.

Some helpful ID tips: About as long as a blue jay, a sharp-shinned hawk has a squared-off tail and a small head. The Cooper’s hawk, more crow length, has a larger head and rounded tail. The northern goshawk, sometimes mistaken for a red-tailed hawk, has faint bands on its slate-grey tail as an adult, uneven bands on its grey-brown tail as a first-year bird.

Size of prey taken can also help determine species. The sharpy that dive-bombed our feeder last week ended up with a tiny junco in its yellow fist. A few days later, we found fresh feathers where a mourning dove had been on the menu for a Cooper’s hawk. If a raptor is chasing a grouse, squirrel or crow, it’s gotta be a goshawk.

Nature queries: mcarney@interlinks.net or 905-725-2116.


Durham resident Margaret Carney, in addition to writing nature-appreciation columns, has published several children’s books.

Recommend :

More Columns By Marg Carney

Help a turtle cross the road
Nothing like paddling in a canoe for this Canuck
You need a keen eye to catch chimney swifts
Spring skies show amazing variety of birds for your eyes
Berries, worms, bugs all feed the need for robins
Songbirds fill up spring with bright melody
Bright colours of spring make the season sing
Grebes galore make for wonderful spring viewing
Here's exactly why we get all those April showers
Bird engineering causes feathered friends to flock together
Media Mash Most Viewed Videos
Death of Pat Gostlin still haunts husband Death of Pat Gostlin still haunts husband

It has been more than six months since teacher and Green Par...

Deer bounds through neighbourhood Deer bounds through neighbourhood

Police, Ajax and Whitby officials were able to safely captur...

Fighting West Nile Fighting West Nile

The Durham Region Health Department is switching gears in it...

Salute and a prayer Salute and a prayer

A young boy from Brooklin paid special tribute with a salute...

Uxbridge farm an international destination Uxbridge farm an international destination

The Family Nickle Happy Farm on Feasby Road is registered on...

The new GM The new GM

The company that was once Like a Rock is getting down to bus...

Previous
1
/ 6
Previous

Blogs


Scene and Heard with Will McGuirk
Mariposa this weekend
Technically Speaking
Touch me, feel me!
Past, Present and Future
Fight for your right
People, Places and Things
My to-do list for July
People, Places and Things
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Word Count
Ajax Canada Day
Scene and Heard with Will McGuirk
Get your Grandma outta here... Here comes KI$$