We were thrilled to see this beautiful Sharp-shinned Hawk perched in a backyard beech tree several days ago. We saw one frequent our property last winter, but never managed to get a photo. This time we were ready, though I wasn't speedy enough with the zoom.
He stayed on the branch for several minutes, long enough for me to call all the children to come quickly to the window and have a good look. Then he swooped down to explore the ground beneath a holly tree, and remained there for another minute or so. We were curious about what he was investigating. Then he flew to a split-rail fence in our side yard, paused for a few moments, and left, presumably for better hunting grounds.
Amazingly, while the hawk was sitting in the beech tree, there were still about 10 Mourning Doves feeding on the ground not too far away. They left only when when four children rushed to the nearby window to watch the hawk. Maybe they thought they were too big to be Sharp-shinned Hawk prey?
As soon as he was gone, we grabbed The Young Birder's Guide to Birds of Eastern North America (Peterson Field Guides)
Note: In the spirit of disclosure, I'd like you to know that if you purchase any books through my Amazon links, I get a small kickback. Not enough to get excited about, but thought it best to mention it again.
How exciting!
Posted by: Little Sister | January 18, 2010 at 12:27 PM
question what part of harford co. do you live in, as i hope to be able to see the sharp shinned. i saw one on APG a few years ago very beautiful bird
Posted by: Ced | January 18, 2010 at 11:46 PM
What a great sighting, we used to see these occaisionally, but mainly have Cooper's hawks. Fun!
Posted by: Meredith | January 19, 2010 at 11:13 AM