FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Re: [Fwd: Sharp-shinned Hawk, walking while stalking]

[OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx]

Feb. 7, 2003

I've been lucky twice, by being in the right place at the right time to watch 
accipiters hunt from the ground. The first time I was down in the very south 
end of Ensley Bottoms. I do a lot of birding by just getting into a birdie 
area and sitting and watching for an hour or two. I must admit I doze off 
more often now than I use to. I have seen accipiters dive into brush piles 
and thickets but never had the opportunity to watch what actually happened. 

This time, I had positioned myself next to a drop off of about 8 feet on the 
edge of a wooded depression wallowed out long ago by a loose Mississippi 
River. It has grown up in trees and the edge is a tangle of brush and vines. 
In the late winter most all of the leaves are gone except some vines that 
retain a sparse covering of hanger-on's.

I was aware that everything had suddenly gotten quite and I saw quick brown 
flashes all headed in one direction through the tangle. Looking back left, I 
saw movement and I finally had in view, a female Sharp-shinned coming through 
the tangle. It would hop, jump, flip its wings and moved with great agility. 
It used its tail for balance, twisting and turning it as it wove its way 
through the maze. She would stop briefly, survey the area and start again and 
finally came upon a bird that had hunkered down that I did not see until it 
broke cover and fled.

The Sharpie jumped at the bird, twisted and stabbed one foot forward but got 
nothing but air. I watched it hunt for minutes and I believe it was 
successful as it finally took flight and through the trees I thought I could 
see something hanging limply from its feet.

My second adventure was in California, while looking for a Golden-crowned 
Sparrow. I had located a bunch of sparrows in a hedge or really a bramble row 
and just pulled the car up nearby. The sun was down low in the afternoon and 
back lit the row and I could see all the movement as the birds fed in and out 
of its edge. I had successfully found my first Golden-crowns and was enjoying 
both my closeness and luck. 

A movement caught my eye and a Cooper's Hawk entered the end of the row and 
at one time passed within 15 feet of my car. Essentially, the bird worked the 
same way as the Sharpie had but with more style and vigor. It was almost 
snake like as it slithered its long slim body and tail through the thick 
vines. As it had come with such stealth, it surprised the birds suddenly and 
quickly claimed a prize with a one foot, back handed thrust that either 
Serena or Venus Williams would have been proud. It dispatched its prey, 
rested a second and flew to a nearby stand of trees.

Needless to say these were intense minutes for me, watching these masters at 
work. I've seen them flying toward or away from me, in thickets, in hunting 
mode when they did not know I was there. They are graceful as they can be, 
folding the wings at the right moment to slip through unbelievable small 
spaces and turning on a dime with the tail cocked at almost 90 degrees, not 
touching or disturbing anything with their intense big eyes planning the next 
6 moves in the flight path like a chess player. But it is when they are on 
the ground, down and dirty, that they actually morph into a different hunting 
machine, almost cat or fox like. They deserve what ever they catch.

Good Birding!!!

Jeff R. Wilson
OL' COOT / TLBA
Bartlett Tenn.


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