Death Rocket
Northern cardinal male. We have one less of these on the farm this morning.First thing this morning, while I was talking on the telephone with a hick buddy from West Virginny, the death rocket came blasting past the studio window.
This was a big female sharp-shinned hawk and she swooped up into feet-forward position to grab a male northern cardinal. Her piercing talons must have killed the redbird instantly because he hung limp as she pumped her wings and propelled the two of them into the sumac thicket. Entering the thicket at full speed, she turned just so, and did not disturb a single snowflake from the branches as she passed.
The entire event took less than three seconds. The sharpie was in blurry, fluid motion the entire time. Many of the birds at the feeders next to the birch tree were so surprised that they did not have time to react. And in the aftermath, no one dared visit the feeders for half an hour, despite the ice and snow covering everything.
Nature red in tooth and claw...
Sharp-shinned hawk at our feeders last spring.Labels: backyard birds, bird feeding, hawks at bird feeders, northern cardinal, sharp-shinned hawk
9 Comments:
AWESOME. Top of the food chain baby!!
Wait! Can't we write captions for ALL of you posts, BOTB?
Seriously, tho, love the sharpie encounter.
Jess
Jess:
Feel free to write captions! Lord knows I could use the creative assistance!
Jayrod: Thanks for the comment!
Amazing that you were watching right at that moment.
While waiting for a traffic light to change, I watched a Cooper's hawk land under a railroad trestle and ambush an unaware pigeon coming to roost. The pursuit occurred at traffic level and the speed and maneuvering of both birds made my heart race. After it was over, in a matter of seconds, I remember looking around me thinking, didn't anybody else see that?! The pigeon survived this one.
I have a new ID for that redbird in your photo. A young, not-yet-birder was in my exam room today with his mom, his little brother and his cat. When I took the cat off for blood tests, I asked him to watch out the window for birds at our feeders. When I came back, he announced there was a "red vulture" in the tree. All I saw was a cardinal. the vulture must have flown the coop.
~Kathi
I've seen a Cooper's carry a MODO...
A sharp-shinned waited for two hours a few weeks ago. I got some fine photos of him but didn't see any action.
Glad you saw his skills.
Mary
I have witnessed this same type of scene in our backyard with Coopers hawks. It is a little disturbing to watch first hand, but they are such magnificent animals and they have to eat too.
Wow. Wow.
I have a sharp-shinned in my yard, too. She picks birds off the feeders when I'm 8 feet away. No fear.
Glad I'm too big for her to eat.
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