Now you see them, now you don’t. The birds visiting our backyard bird feeders disappeared in the blink of an eye. One minute we were watching the chickadees, titmice, juncos, doves and cardinals enjoying their seeds, the next minute we look out the window there’s not a single bird anywhere-gone in 60 seconds! It’s not unusual to see them perform this vanishing act at this time of the year-some days several times throughout the day. Occasionally, we’ll see a clue as to what caused the sudden panic to fly away, in the form of a pile of feathers laying on the frozen ground. What causes these pretty, little songbirds to scatter and hide in a dense shrub or evergreen tree? A bird feeder!
Bird feeders come in all shapes and sizes. But, this feeder isn’t an ugly, wooden or plastic object hanging in a tree I made myself, that scares the little birdies away every time the wind blows. This bird feeder is alive! It doesn’t provide seed for other birds, it feeds on other birds. In fact, it is a bird. Specifically, the bird feeder is a Sharp-shinned hawk.
Sharp-shinned hawks, or “sharpies” as they’re nicknamed, are one of three species of hawks classified as Accipiters. These forest-dwelling raptors are characterized by having short, round wings and long tails, which allow them to fly in between trees with speed and accuracy. There are three species that occur in North America, including Pennsylvania. The largest is the Northern Goshawk and the smallest is the Sharp-shinned hawk. The other is the Cooper’s hawk.
What makes these hawks unique from other birds of prey is their aggressive appetite for other birds. Sure, they’ll also eat mice and squirrels and other small mammals if they’re sitting there staring at the hawk, but their reputation as efficient, flying predators gives them an advantage of capturing songbirds. Many times, when one of these critters visits your backyard bird feeders, they may decide to stick around for a day or two, only showing up sporadically, but always perched nearby watching your feeders, and waiting patiently to attack.
It can be rather entertaining watching the small songbirds react to a “sharpie” or a Cooper’s hawk that suddenly appears out of nowhere to try and grab them while they’re sitting there, unsuspecting, and minding their own business cracking open a sunflower seed. Like someone blowing the seeds of a dandelion head, birds flee in every direction! I’ve seen them fly into each other, hit branches and even run along the ground to get away as quick as possible. Most of the hawks’ strikes are misses, but when they do hit, it’s usually one of the bigger species that gets it, like Mourning doves or Northern cardinals. I can see why they target these two species, though. The doves are chunky, and a bit awkward when trying to take off quickly. Male cardinals, unfortunately, are bright red. Need I say more? If the hawk is successful, it doesn’t take long for the other fortunate birds to begin to return, peeking out of the bushes as if to say, “Who got it?” While others seems to reply, “Who cares, it wasn’t us, let’s go get some cracked corn!’ Bird feeders-you got love em’!
