Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

Friday, January 31, 1997     Page: 1B

`Talonted’ meal seekers
   
Mike Liechty has learned what a lot of urban and suburban bird watchers
have learnedSuburban songbirds as well as small, city-bred mammals attract
large birds of prey.
    Liechty, of Wilkes-Barre’s North End, was out romping with his husky when
he witnessed an airborne predator in action.
   
Liechty said he was walking his dog on the railroad tracks near Chestnut
Street when she noticed something on the ground in the woods. When the dog
went over to investigate, a big bird took off from the ground, flew to the
railroad tracks and, minutes later, perched about 15 feet up a tree. The bird
was a hawk.
   
No doubt Liechty’s inquisitive husky was drawn to the patch of woods by the
scent of the cottontail the hawk was devouring.
   
Liechty said the hawk remained there a while, keeping watch and cleaning
its feathers.
   
He said two other people had observed the hawk trying unsuccessfully to
take flight with the limp bunny in its talons.
   
The rabbit was undoubtedly too heavy for the bird to carry to more private
quarters. It perched cautiously overhead, waiting for a safe moment to return
to its meal.
   
Liechty said he studied a field guide at home and determined the bird was
either a juvenile goshawk or sharp-shinned.
   
Despite size differences, juvenile goshawks, sharp-shinned and Cooper’s
hawks look remarkably similar. But I’ll bet the bird Liechty observed was a
sharpie.
   
Cooper’s hawks are rare, while the larger goshawks aren’t particularly
known to favor urban or suburban settings.
   
Sharpies are woodland birds, relatively small and agile. Their short,
rounded wings and slender tail allow them to maneuver effectively in tight
quarters.
   
And, they don’t hesitate to haunt any little woodlot where they can readily
feed on rodents and rabbits as well as songbirds attracted to feeders hung
from trees in urban backyards.
   
When most people think of hawks, they envision a group of large birds
soaring in circles high overhead.
   
That behavior is true of hawks known as buteos. Hawks such as the
red-tailed and broad-winged do circle overhead by riding the thermal winds.
   
But sharpies, goshawks and Cooper’s hawks are accipters — nimble birds
with heavily streaked underparts. And they are comfortable in wooded areas.
   
Sharp-shinned hawks are no strangers to backyards.
   
A man who fills two feeding stations almost daily in the Back Mountain area
called recently to report a hawk swooping in and snatching a male cardinal.
   
The cardinal’s bright red feathers rendered it highly visible, and the hawk
probably zeroed in on it rather than any of the other songbirds working the
feeder.
   
The man didn’t know what kind of hawk took advantage of “his” birds. He
never saw it before or after the incident.
   
But he wasn’t happy and wanted to know how to prevent it from happening
again.
   
Stop putting out food that attracts songbirds was my advice.
   
Bird feeders attract songbirds, which in turn attract predators.
   
As feeding birds becomes more popular, and as songbirds congregate to take
advantage of the feed, the problem of attracting birds of prey can only
increase.
   
But there really is no need for alarm or concern.
   
Watching a hawk or owl hunt down dinner is a rare spectacle.
   
Appreciate the incident, whether it occurs unexpectedly at the backyard
feeder or while casually walking the family dog along urban railroad tracks.
   
George Smith is The Times Leader outdoors editor.