A friend told me the other day that she had just finished filling her bird feeders and birdbaths in her yard. She really loves feeding the birds and enjoys the excited activity and bird chatter that quickly follows filling those feeders. On this particular day, however, there was an abrupt cessation of movement and noise from the many birds in her yard. She wondered why everything was so quiet and still. Suddenly a small hawk burst from the pine trees and blazed through her yard, so quickly it took a moment to register. Alison had never before seen a hawk like that in her area.
Most likely that hawk was a Cooper's hawk or a sharp-shinned hawk scoping out Alison's bird feeders in search of a meal. Both hawks are common in our areas and are notorious for hunting at the places where songbirds can be found. These small accipiters are skilled hunters, able to maneuver quickly through thickets, shrubs, and dense trees to capture their prey, typically smaller birds but also from time to time small mammals. These small hyperactive birds look pretty similar to each other and identification can be tricky. Juvenile hawks are small, not much larger than a crow, with a brownish-grayish back and wings, streaky body, banded tail, and long yellow legs. Mature Cooper's and sharpies have intense red eyes. These hawks typically come to EWRC for rehab in very bad shape, usually blind and/or paralyzed, after hitting a window, building, tree, or even the ground at tremendous speed in pursuit of their food. Usually with time and good supportive care they recover. Burst vessels behind their eyes heal and vision returns. Spinal column swelling recedes and movement of the limbs returns. Broken bones and soft tissue damage heal, and once flying appropriately and landing appropriately, we release these birds back home, not always to the joy of the homeowner!
People ask what they can do to help their birds but not provide a buffet to the hawks. A couple of things come to mind, one of which is to hang the feeders and place the baths very near trees and or shrubs, or other places that give small birds a place to hide when the predators show up, thus increasing their chances of escape. Another option, though I personally feel is less desirable, for people who insist upon hanging feeders where they can be easily seen from the window is to place them very close to the window-I'm guessing within 2-3 feet, so that if a bird hits the window they shouldn't have built up enough speed to do serious damage to themselves (or the window!)
Feeding the birds is very helpful for them this time of year, and feeding them and providing fresh clean water is a good thing that they benefit from. Check out the Wild Bird Center's impressive selection of quality bird feeders, baths, seed, and supplies.
A very important recommendation I would like to make is to PLEASE make sure your feeders and baths are very clean, as birds can easily spread and contract Trichomoniasis and salmonella, among other things. These diseases take a toll on the birds as well as the predator birds that consume them.
www.ellicottwildlife.com
P.O. Box 75069
Colorado Springs, CO. 80970