Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Wrong again

When six large birds flew into view from an easterly direction and began circling and dive-bombing a tree in my neighbor's yard, I assumed they were buzzards. That made sense to me, because after the two "hawks" I watched a few months ago turned out to be buzzards, I realized that I've never actually seen more than one hawk at a time.

I was wondering what could be dead or dying in that tree when, all of a sudden, the marauding bird-gang flushed a flock of smaller birds out of the branches and gave chase like fighter jets. Nope, those weren't buzzards.

First I grabbed my camera to catch the action:


Then I went to Google, where I discovered it isn't at all uncommon for juvenile hawks to hunt in packs. This old city girl still has a lot to learn.

8 comments:

  1. Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving a comment, especially since you think I'm "smart".

    I read, with great interest, your beautiful blog, "Blind Dog Running". Your emotion and empathy come through your writing. Awesome dogs. I am sorry about your loss in March. Hope Butch hangs on a while longer. He sounds like a great doggie.

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  2. Hi Linda! Thanks for coming by TWP!
    Just read your Hawk story and got a laugh! I live on a farm and I have get the binochs to tell one bird from the other and yesterday I thought two LARGE woodpeckers high in a dead tree were Hawks! HA!

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  3. Hi Linda, Birds do fool us sometimes, don't they???? I would have thought they were buzzards also... Didn't know that about juvenile hawks... Interesting... Thanks!
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  4. Great capture! And interesting bit of knowledge you've passed on. Thanks!

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  5. Great capture! We have a resident pair of red-tailed hawks on our mountain and often see them circling together.

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  6. California Girl, thanks for visiting my blogs and for your kind comment. And, yes, I do think you're smart, perhaps because the opinions you stated parallel my own thoughts about the state of our union.

    Carol and Betsy, thank you for dropping by and for letting me know I'm not alone in my B.I.D. (Bird Identity Disorder). I appreciate that. :)

    Alison, who knew?

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  7. How great you were able to get a photo! It pays to remember to bring the camera when you're outside-I'm trying to remember to bring mine. I have a bird book handy for when I can't tell what a bird is.

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  8. Janet, I have a bird book, too, but unless the bird is close enough that I can see plumage, the book doesn't do more than help me narrow it down. I wish the birds would carry tiny little lightweight signs around their necks--or wear "hello, my name is..." stickers.

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