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| Titmouse, Safe For Now In Japanese Maple |
Y'all might recall our woes of last summer, when Robins and Cardinals struggled to assure the safe arrival of offspring. Well, it seems our resident raptors have decided to winter over.
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Fuzzy Photo - Resident Raptor
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I assume that it was this guy who landed on the patio last week, right outside of our kitchen window. NIK was not handy. Today, I noticed him grounded once again in the far reaches of our yard. He was well camouflaged in leaves and brush. At first, I thought him injured. After an hour of periodically checking on him, I realized he was preening; there was lots of tugging and pulling with his beak... thus the poufy chest feathers. He must have been too lazy or tired to dine on choice birds, all fortifying themselves at the nearby feeders. Baby, it's cold outside and flying/staying warm both use up tons of calories.
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| ...Without The Wind Chill Factor... |
Camera in hand, I decided to attempt a shot at closer range. So, after bundling up and donning boots, off I descended, down the snowy slope of our yard... quietly, or so I thought. It appeared that he'd hopped into denser shrubs, till I heard a swoosh. By the time flight translated to sound, he was several hundred feet away, landing in a distant tree. Not hard to imagine how he snags a bird...
Elusive, that guy. But at least we now know by my fuzzy photo that he's a Cooper's Hawk... and a resident Titmouse is safe, for this freezing day.
