Our garden is always filled with wildlife activity. Today when I looked out the window I saw a hawk sitting on the fence by the feeders. This picture is from my window...look closely and you will see the hawk.
I've seen hawks in the garden many times but today was different. In fact, I've seen this happen in our garden once before. Even though the hawk was on the fence, the other birds (bluejays, cardinals, titmice, sparrows, dark-eyed juncos, mockingbirds and others) were busy with their regular activities. They were at the feeders right by the hawk, at the suet and on the ground. I watched for about 20 minutes as the hawk "walked" up and down the fence, "fluffed" his feathers and stretched his wings like he was sunning himself. At one point a crow (there were several on the ground right under the hawk) flew up and landed on the fence about three feet away from the hawk. The hawk jumped over to scare the crow away. It was obvious that was what he was doing, not trying to catch the crow. After a while he flew towards the trees you see in the background. None of the other birds seemed to care about the hawk. Which leads me to my question....does anyone know why this happens? To me it seemed like the other birds instinctively knew the hawk wasn't hunting. Could this be? This is absolutely fascinating to me and I would appreciate any feedback you can give me!
Happy Gardening!
Words and Photos Property of Christy's Cottage Wildlife Garden
That's one big hawk! Maybe he or she puts off a vibe like pheromones or something that lets the other birds know it is hunting? Interesting question!
ReplyDeleteTina...this is so amazing to me!! As I said I saw this happen one other time a couple of months ago. Most of the time I'll hear a bunch of squawking (usually the bluejays) and then all of the birds scatter into the bushes and trees. Then within a few seconds I'll see the hawk. In cases like today some instinct must tell them something.
DeleteThat is a puzzler. I might run that by the ornithologists at Cornell if I can get a hold of one. I have never seen birds comfortable with a hawk in the vicinity. I am going away next week for a couple of weeks, but when I get back, I will investigate. The only thing I can surmise is the birds knew the hawk was satiated and just made a kill. That happens with snakes and their prey sometimes. Knowing a snake is fat and sluggish and won't feed for a month or two makes the prey a lot more courageous around them. With a snake, it is a visible thing though (big bulge), so the only way is if, from there shelter, the birds witnessed the kill.
ReplyDeleteI would REALLY appreciate it if you could run it by an ornithologist. As I said, I've seen this twice now in my garden; the last time was a couple of months ago. By the way, the hawk came back about an hour later and sat on the fence in the same spot. Again the birds didn't pay any attention to him. Now I can't stop looking out the window to see if I see him again! Thank you so much!
DeleteA mystery, wrapped inside and enigma and surrounded by a puzzle. Ok, I give up and don't have clue. I'll check back later to see if anybody knows why....:)
ReplyDeleteYou are so right!!! This really is a mystery and I've got to find the answer.
DeleteI am sure that the other birds know about "hawk-behaviour" and can see when to be on guard. I have read your previous posts and loved to meet your cute dogs; it's so nice to be surrounded with four legged - and feathered - friends of all kinds... :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Mia...I think you must be in England now and I hope you had a good trip! Yes, it is wonderful to be surrounded by things we enjoy, things we love and good friends!
ReplyDeleteHi Christy,
ReplyDeleteI just noticed in my sidebar that you are following my blog now. Thank you! I have not been keeping up well with blog writing and reading, but hope to do some catching up this week. I see we have some friends in common. My plant choices have changed over time, and I am currently focusing on growing plants native to our area, as well as plants that butterflies and their caterpillars need.
I read the comments here, hoping your question was answered. I see hawks in the sky, but so far, have not seen one close up. There is a pair that live on the grounds of the school I work at that I've seen from time to time.
Hi! I have quite a few natives in my garden too. In fact, I just read a couple of books on native plants and realized I have a lot more than I thought. I use plant labels to identify the plants and I'm starting to put an "N" on the label of any native plant so I'll remember.
DeleteWow! I've never heard of this before. The birds in my yard take off the second they hear or see a hawk. I have witnessed a peculiar bird behavior known as "mobbing". It is basically when they all gang up together and start squawking at the hawk.
ReplyDeleteHi Steph...Thank you for visiting my blog!! Yes, this is really odd. Usually I hear the Bluejays squawking and all the other birds scatter into the trees and bushes. So this time they must have known something. I'd never heard of the term "mobbing" but the birds must be doing it when I see a group of them chasing a hawk in the air. There's so much to learn about birds and I'm enjoying it so much! Please visit again!
DeleteGlad to have found your blog. I too have a deep passion towards gardening. I believe the other birds sense the hawk's intensions. We had a red tailed hawk visitor a few years back and all the other birds that normally visited the feeder vanished until the hawk moved on. They have an instinctual sense of fear of their enemies...nature is interesting isn't it?
ReplyDeleteHi Lee. I'm so glad you found my blog. Yes, nature is very interesting!! I love working out in my garden and watching all the wildlife around me. I never know what I'm going to see! Please visit again. I started my blog in winter and I can't wait until spring to start showing all of my beautiful flowers and plants!
DeleteHow ironic! I noticed a hawk in the woods behind the feeders and the song birds did not seem to be bothered by him as they normally are. I was thinking to myself, I wonder why they did not start to squawk and flutter to the bushes but they just kept on eating. Maybe they know when he is on the hunt and just hanging out. When I hear the Jays going crazy, I know there is a hawk or snake near by...
ReplyDeleteThe birds must have some kind of instinct that tells them the hawk isn't hunting. Seeing this was just so odd. I agree, I usually hear the Jays and know there's a hawk nearby. Then it's a mad rush for the other birds to get into the bushes.
DeleteInteresting. Never really thought about that before. Usually, when we see a hawk, all is quiet.
ReplyDelete