Hi there VAbirders,
Yesterday I was at the kitchen sink, filling my teapot. Glancing out the
window, I saw a Sharpie on the ground next to one of my neighbor's dense,
ball-shaped azalea bushes. I froze so as not to spook the Sharpie, cause,
off and on, it would look at me.
It dove into the bush, a sparrow (probably House) flew out the other side.
It dove in again, another sparrow flew out.
It dove in a third time, another sparrow flew out.
It dove in a fourth! time, this time no sparrow flew out. The Sharpie
plopped on the ground with a sparrow in its talons. It spread it's wings
over the sparrow, as raptors do when they've got a catch, and kept glancing
around, sometimes looking at me.
I waited for it to start plucking the sparrow, but after a minute or so, it
flew off with it. I ran to the other window to see if I could see it, but
it was gone.
Wondering about the sparrows behaviour.......
I'm surprised that the sparrows didn't all fly out at once the first time
the Sharpie dove into bush. I would have thought that such a mass exodus
would be the best chance of escape. Instead, they all stayed hunkered down
in the bush, flying out one at a time. But then again, I'm not a birdee,
so what do I know about eluding a Sharpie! Makes me wonder tho, whether
their behaviour was a result of fear or strategy.
Pondering.
Lori Markoff
Vienna
Fairfax County
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