Backyard Bird Watchers

[dillyo51]

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Spotted this red-tailed hawk soaring over my back yard.

Live in Loudon co and have noticed several hawks riding the wind recently.

 

[TOUCHDOWN!!TN]

Cleaned blue bird house out today. Two years of nesting, I ran into a gentleman at co-op who was well informed on bluebirds. He mentioned houses should be cleaned yearly, who knew, we usually have two broods a year, bluebirds all spring and summer.
Hummingbird feeder is clean and in window.
Still early in the season but soon here in Loudon
County.
GBO

 

[Tin Man]

Scarlet finches have their breeding plumage and are jealous of the feeder, chasing away other pairs when they’re feeding. My dogwood is the waiting area.

 

[Tin Man]

Barred owl “laughing” in the afternoon. 😁

 

[VolNExile]

A pair of hawks was harassing a pair of crows in the hemlocks behind us, swooping very low (20'?) over the backyard. The Idiot Cat was on the deck in full butt wiggle mode, ready to pounce. Dumb cat, those hawks could have picked her up and taken her home for snackies.

 

[Go aeiou]

A pair of hawks was harassing a pair of crows in the hemlocks behind us, swooping very low (20'?) over the backyard. The Idiot Cat was on the deck in full butt wiggle mode, ready to pounce. Dumb cat, those hawks could have picked her up and taken her home for snackies.

It'll be interesting to see if you get more crows to the rescue. We have a lot here, and I've seen the harassing a hawk before.

 

[VolNExile]

It'll be interesting to see if you get more crows to the rescue. We have a lot here, and I've seen the harassing a hawk before.

I don't know if they've got a nest (or more - there were three crows in this little dance) up in the hemlocks, and they're defending territory or eggs or what.

But it sure gets noisy!

--There's a squashed squirrel out in the side street, and yesterday a crow was trying to get at it, but every time it got its beak ready to go, another car came by. It was pretty irate there after a while.

 

[Rishvol]

Scarlet finches have their breeding plumage and are jealous of the feeder, chasing away other pairs when they’re feeding. My dogwood is the waiting area.

I'm going to guess you meant house finches because scarlet finch is an Asian species. Of course you could be loving in China and I not know about it

 

[Rishvol]

A pair of hawks was harassing a pair of crows in the hemlocks behind us, swooping very low (20'?) over the backyard. The Idiot Cat was on the deck in full butt wiggle mode, ready to pounce. Dumb cat, those hawks could have picked her up and taken her home for snackies.

I had a red shouldered hawk swoop down on my white dog last year. I had a good laugh about it because they both ran when it got close to the dog

 

[Tin Man]

I'm going to guess you meant house finches because scarlet finch is an Asian species. Of course you could be loving in China and I not know about it

My midwestern yankee wife calls them scarlet finches (my family calls them common finches). She would admonish you to let go of your fixation on China. 😁

 

[Tin Man]

Hereabouts, crows harass hawks much more than the other way around. Crows are most aggravated by owls. If horned owls like the crows’ nesting site, they will kill and eat the birds present and build their nest atop the crows’.

 

[Tin Man]

Two pairs of hawks are hanging around - red tails and a pair of smaller hawks that I think may be Coopers hawks. I cannot get a good look to confirm. Usually, they pass on through by this time of year. If they’ve elected to nest nearby, it will be terror for the squirrels, chipmunks, and songbirds.

 

[Tin Man]

Two pairs of hawks are hanging around - red tails and a pair of smaller hawks that I think may be Coopers hawks. I cannot get a good look to confirm. Usually, they pass on through by this time of year. If they’ve elected to nest nearby, it will be terror for the squirrels, chipmunks, and songbirds.

Note: the Cardinals on my feeder seem unconcerned about the red tails crying overhead. They seem to know something the other critters don’t.

 

[VolNExile]

Note: the Cardinals on my feeder seem unconcerned about the red tails crying overhead. They seem to know something the other critters don’t.

Maybe they're big enough that the hawks don't mess with them, as long as there are plenty of finches and chickadees and Carolina wrens?

 

[Tin Man]

Maybe they're big enough that the hawks don't mess with them, as long as there are plenty of finches and chickadees and Carolina wrens?

I think that the two were aloft doing their recognition/territorial thing, and the Cardinals recognized the lack of threat to them at my feeder.

 

[Rishvol]

Note: the Cardinals on my feeder seem unconcerned about the red tails crying overhead. They seem to know something the other critters don’t.

Red tails don't worry about song birds. They're after squirrels and rabbits.

 

[Tin Man]

Heard the barred owls again. Must be nesting within 2 square miles of my home. 😁

 

[Rishvol]

Heard the barred owls again. Must be nesting within 2 square miles of my home. 😁

We have a couple of red tails looking for a place to nest. Hopefully they find a tree nearby

 

[Tin Man]

Red tails have been calling over a copse of mature trees nearby.