Last week I heard the tell-tale "whack" on the bedroom window signaling a downed bird. From the feather bits pasted to the window I thought, "Junco". As I scanned out the window for the downed bird I noticed a female Cooper's Hawk sitting on the edge of a planter pot looking intently in the same direction. After a few minutes it jumped off the planter and crept toward the spot where I would have guessed the bird to be. That hawk looked methodically under every shrub planted in that flowerbed and short of turning over every leaf. It came up empty!
I have seen Cooper's fly in, and failing a strike, will creep through and under the shrubbery trying to ferret out any birds that have taken refuge there forcing them to fly so it has another chance. Bob once saw one running across the patio after a mouse. It makes me believe that Velociraptors were really possible!
Last Friday I observed hundreds of swans west of Hwy. 9 and south of Massy Rd. about 2 miles north of our house. Bob has seen them in the same numbers yesterday and today, with geese mixed in today, on his way to and from Lynden.
Nothing unusual about the assortment of birds coming to the feeders. There were a couple of goldfinches the other day. Today after the weather started to clear all the birds wanted to take a turn in the bird baths. The record was 7 House Finches at once.
We have taken the Anna's challenge. The last of our fuschias dropped the rest of their blossoms about a week an a half ago. We have put a couple feeders out, one with Val's special light heater which comes on at 35 degrees F. It's on right now at 33 degrees outside. There is an adult male for sure and we think a female and possibly another female or immature male.
Finally, the Barn Owl pair have been very present and very vocal! It's been too cold and wet to have the window open now but when we did we could hear their raspy call and a rapid kleekleekleekleeklee that I swear, went on for over a minute, maybe two. Some sort of pair bonding? It's almost time to hear the GHOWs start their "sweet nothings".
That's the news from Hopewell,
Cindy Klein
Years ago, at the clinic, i was with a person in hysteria, about how bad life can be. A Cooper's flared on the feeder, a Junco impacted the window, we both turned our heads to watch. The Cooper's glided, grasped the Junco, torn the back of its skull out and flew away.
Someone whose not a therapist stated" well i guess today's looking up?!"
Oddly they understood.
Fred Sears
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