[obol] bird tag
- From: Darrel Faxon <5hats@xxxxxxxx>
- To: OBOL <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2013 08:52:05 -0800
For years I have observed and puzzled over the seeming games of tag
played between Sharp-shinned ( and less often Cooper's Hawk) and crows and
jays. None of these exchanges I have observed, and there have been
hundreds of them, have ever resulted in a hawk capturing a crow or jay.
The hawks fly from a perch, make a close pass of the prey, sometimes
pursuing it in flight for a time, often with talons extended, and then turn
away to another perch. Steller's Jays in particular seem to willingly
involve themselves in the game, flying into the same tree as the hawk, and
often perching within a few feet of it.
This morning I observed something even more strange. A Pileated
Woodpecker flew in and perched near the top of a sixty foot tall alder, and
begin pecking away at the branch. From out of nowhere a Sharp-shinned Hawk
flew in and made an attack on it. The woodpecker panicked and flew, hawk
in pursuit. Soon both landed again. Over the next ten minutes the hawk
made about a dozen passes at the woodpecker, each time coming within
inches. The first three times, the woodpecker flew to another perch.
After that, it pretty much ignored the hawk, simply shifting its position
around to the opposite side of the branch each time the hawk attacked.
Several Steller's Jays were in attendance, but the hawk paid no attention
to them. What was even more amazing is that this particular hawk was on
the small side for the species. It wasn't much larger than the jays. The
last exchange I saw reversed the process. The hawk was perched in the very
top of an alder. The woodpecker left its perch about fifty feet away,and
flew in the general direction of the hawk, swooping upward at one point
towards it to within five or six feet. Then both flew beyond the scope of
my vision through the window through which I had watched the exchange.
I have always wondered if perhaps these exchanges were, at least on
the part of the hawks, simply a means of sharpening their hunting skills.
If that is the case, it does seem that at least on occasion, I would
observe the actual taking of prey, but as stated before, I have never
observed it even once. And why would a small male Sharp-shin seem so
determined to practice its skill on a bird twice its size, on it would
likely be unable to capture if it really intended to do so?
Darrel
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