Monday, March 2, 2015

Predador and Prey?

What's wrong with this picture?


The birds are still there! That's what's wrong. Don't they see the hawk?

Don't you see the hawk?


See it now? A beautiful red-shouldered hawk. It certainly sees the birds. And it no doubt saw us.


But as we were inside looking out the window it wasn't alarmed.


And it seemed completely disinterested in the goings on down below its perch.

Usually, if there is a hawk around the birds at the feeders either flee or freeze. But not this time. They were just as active as ever. Surely they saw this bird. And while not its primary food source, red-shoulders will take birds. Fad this been a cooper or a sharpie perched there the place would have been deserted.

The hawk as right on the edge of the open area of our yard, as could be seen in the first image above. Or with a little help in the image below (as always, click to bigafy).


Curious.

It did scare up a bluejay when it flew away through the woods. But it wasn't clear if it was going after the jay or it just spooked the jay as it flew off. In either case the jay escaped unscathed.

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