Cool Snowprint

[Phil D.]

Anyone care to guess what made this snow-print in our backyard..? (I know what it is, but thought this might be a fun exercise... )

 

[John Nyberg]

 

[MyCrows]

Maybe a bird?...

 

[Phil D.]

Maybe a bird?...

Yup! - but the circumstances were pretty amazing! We have a bird feeder off our back porch, which to some extent has attracted different species in different years. This year there is an abundance of rascally Bluejays and more demure Eurasian Doves (along with the always ubiquitous sparrows, chickadees, juncos - but for some odd reason, for the first time, no finches...). The other day we also noticed a Cooper's Hawk hanging out at the top of a not too distant tree... We didn't capture the actual event on camera, but the hawk swooped in towards the feeder and took chase after a startled dove. The imprint was from a first (but missed) swooping ground-level attempt at breakfast! But it kept chase and didn't miss on the second attempt - taking down its prey in mid-air with an explosion of feathers! The whole thing was was over in about 3 seconds... What a sight!

 

[John Nyberg]

Yup! - but the circumstances were pretty amazing! We have a bird feeder off our back porch, which to some extent has attracted different species in different years. This year there is an abundance of rascally Bluejays and more demure Eurasian Doves (along with the always ubiquitous sparrows, chickadees, juncos - but for some odd reason, for the first time, no finches...). The other day we also noticed a Cooper's Hawk hanging out at the top of a not too distant tree... We didn't capture the actual event on camera, but the hawk swooped in towards the feeder and took chase after a startled dove. The imprint was from a first (but missed) swooping ground-level attempt at breakfast! But it kept chase and didn't miss on the second attempt... The whole thing was was over in less than 3 seconds... What a sight!

View attachment 11769

So, it wasn't a prehistoric, giant sloth?

 

[Phil D.]

So, it wasn't a prehistoric, giant sloth?

Hmmm... now that you mention it, maybe I do need to sharpen my powers of observation...

 

[Ploutos]

On our recent trip to the central parts of the country, we were amused by the endless array of finches and juncos - much more prevalent there than in our home state. (In fact, I've never seen or heard of a junco here.) Unfortunately, we didn't spot any raptors on that trip, but we did see quite a few flickers. That was the favorite sighting for my wife. Personally, I liked the juncos. Even though they were a dime a dozen, I did not tire of how fat, fluffy, and cute they were in appearance.

 

[Phil D.]

On our recent trip to the central parts of the country, we were amused by the endless array of finches and juncos - much more prevalent there than in our home state. (In fact, I've never seen or heard of a junco here.) Unfortunately, we didn't spot any raptors on that trip, but we did see quite a few flickers. That was the favorite sighting for my wife. Personally, I liked the juncos. Even though they were a dime a dozen, I did not tire of how fat, fluffy, and cute they were in appearance.

We have a nesting pair of Bald Eagles on a canyon rim about a quarter-mile from us. They do a great job helping keep the short-tailed-long-eared rat (...also known as a rabbit...) population down...We also see several species of woodpeckers here, including the Northern Flicker (they're quite large!) Some of my favorite species that we only see in spring and early summer are bluebirds (both mountain and eastern) and goldfinches. We have also seen Western Tanagers on rare occasion.

 

[jwithnell]

Great image with the snow.

We get Cooper's hawks poaching birds at our feeders. I mostly respect their role in the ecosystem, but if they're going after my Carolina wrens I will declare war intervene.

 

[Ploutos]

I will declare war intervene.

As an off-topic aside, that makes a great summary of the last 80 years of American foreign policy.

 

[Phil D.]

As an off-topic aside, that makes a great summary of the last 80 years of American foreign policy.

Well, that's what it means to be a "hawk"...