Outdoor Ontario
Birding Reports => Backyard Birding => Topic started by: Rob'in'To on September 25, 2014, 01:54:08 PM
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Yesterday I took notice to freaking Jays and soon discovered the reason... a Sharp-shinned Hawk. I am more than certain this is the same bird who has terrorized my backyard the last 3 fall/winters. She was on one of her favorite branches. She fought the 2 to 4 Jays at any given time, standing her ground. She never cared about my presence and jetted past my head at least 3 times, giving chase to Sparrows. And lastly she flushed the Pigeon crowd, almost driving one into the back of the house. No way she can take down such a large bird without some kind of tactic like that. This is not the first time I've seen her drive one into a wall.
So, I love this bird and her nutty aggressive behavior but she will wreck havoc on my upcoming "Project Feeder Watch" season once again and I will miss my Cardinals, Chickadees and Nuthatches with her presence. I guess the good thing is my seed spending will be reduced.
Ya, bittersweet this is...
I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!
(http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk187/lilevl13/shirly2014_zps2d1699dd.jpg) (http://s280.photobucket.com/user/lilevl13/media/shirly2014_zps2d1699dd.jpg.html)
Stand off in the tree. Even from this angle, one gets a good size comparison of her.
(http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk187/lilevl13/compare_zps2da09966.jpg) (http://s280.photobucket.com/user/lilevl13/media/compare_zps2da09966.jpg.html)
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Cool! Have you warned Pierre?
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Oh Pierre is in the know alright! Shirley is much smaller than the Pigeons but they are still not taking any chances with her. Everyone is on high alert. The slightest off call from another bird and everyone is gone. I haven't seen Shirley since Saturday. It was 4 days of pure chaos out there as she and the Jays fought steadily. I hope she didn't give up as I do enjoy seeing her even if the other birds don't. I love all the creatures and it's been a blessing to have a Sharp-shin almost face to face with me, and seeing her aerial display as she chases the others.