A Nervous Assassin

Late this morning, I looked out of our kitchen window together with noticed an immature Cooper's hawk inwards the side yard, seemingly lounging inwards the sunshine.  Within a few seconds, however, he began to repeatedly hop into the air, twisting close equally if performing a ceremonial dance.

Grabbing my binoculars, I focused inwards on the ritual together with observed the tail feathers of a songbird poking from the grass; from what picayune I saw, I suspect it was a family finch.  Interrupting his dance, the hawk would curl the carcass to ane side or the other together with and then resume his antics.  Finally, later 5 minutes or so, he took the victim to a grove of pinon pines where he settled on the terra firma for a fleck earlier ascending to a limb to pluck his meal.

Large adult Cooper's hawks (especially females) oftentimes pluck together with eat their victim at the site of the kill, unconcerned that crows or other scavengers mightiness plough up.  Smaller birds (males together with immatures) prefer a secluded place to bask their repast inwards peace, oftentimes taking it into a nearby tree.  I'm non certain how to translate today's display; mayhap the immature hawk was simply excited to accept made a kill but he had the expect of a nervous assassin.

Death On The River

Due to the hot, dry out weather condition (and primarily due to reduced H2O liberate from upstream reservoirs), the South Platte River was real depression this morning, attracting a multifariousness of waders in addition to shorebirds; amid these were groovy blueish herons, snowy egrets, black-crowned dark herons, killdeer in addition to spotted sandpipers.

While focusing inward on 1 of the groovy blues, I watched equally he of a abrupt jabbed into the tall riverside grass in addition to turned dorsum amongst a small-scale mammal inward his formidable bill; likewise large to hold upward a plain mouse, I suspect it was a meadow vole or a immature muskrat.  After dipping it the river to moisten the fur, the heron tilted his mouth skyward in addition to swallowed the victim inward a unmarried gulp; he in addition to thence resumed stalking the shallows for his side yesteryear side snack.

Though nosotros ofttimes sentry herons in addition to egrets inward wetlands in addition to along shorelines, feasting on small-scale fish or aquatic invertebrates, nosotros are undisturbed yesteryear their natural activity.  But when a large heron grabs a small-scale mammal in addition to swallows it whole, nosotros understand amongst the victim, a brute that, similar us, must accept about feel of what is happening.  We easily imagine the nature of its gruesome piece of job in addition to may fifty-fifty resent the heron's unfazed response.  Nature, on the other hand, is oblivious; she is neither judgmental nor sympathetic.

A Lesson From Juncos

Dark-eyed juncos are attracted to our Littleton, Colorado, farm, amongst its naturalized habitat too numerous shrub lines; they are specially drawn to a cluster of juniper shrubs inwards front end of the farmhouse which render dense cover.  Each winter, at to the lowest degree 25-30 individuals wintertime here, comprised primarily of slate-gray, Oregon too gray-headed subspecies.

The diverse subspecies are identical inwards their size too behavior, differing solely inwards the coloration of their plumage.  Indeed, they feed inwards large, mixed flocks, scouring the solid position down for seed (grass, weed or store-bought) inwards peaceful coexistence.  The solely "conflicts" amidst these small, peaceful birds arise betwixt males of the same subspecies when early on confine hormones trigger territorial behavior.

We humans would exercise good to mimic the demeanour of these juncos, blind to superficial differences too cooperative inwards their efforts to abide by shelter too nutrient too to evade predators.  Fortunately, they are non dependent area to the effects of a large, complex encephalon which makes us susceptible to discrimination, intolerance, racism, mysticism too other forms of deranged idea or destructive behavior.

Swallows To The Rescue

Yesterday, every bit I knifed through the hot, humid air on the Great Plains, I noticed many herds of cattle that had crammed together or taken to farm ponds to escape biting insects.  Just around other disturbing spectacle that mightiness encourage other observers to hand upward center consumption!

Fortunately, inwards around areas, squadrons of swallows arrived to feast on the insects that were tormenting the cattle; piece they were hard to pose from the highway, close appeared to live on barn swallows.  Though the agile fliers dive-bombed the herds, the cattle for certain appreciated their service.

Of course, herds of deer, elk, caribou together with other native herbivores are likewise tormented past times insects during the summertime months.  But cattle herds guide maintain been established past times humans, their members living only long plenty to furnish nutrient for people together with their domestic pets.  Their brief lives are far from idyllic! 

Noisy Offspring

Summer is the flavor when newly fledged birds follow their parents through their territory, loudly begging for attending in addition to food.  Anyone who is attuned to nature's cycles is familiar amongst this annual in addition to sometimes annoying behavior.

Over the by week, immature chickadees, identify wrens, identify finches in addition to a entirely Cooper's hawk accept exhibited this noisy begging on our Littleton farm, no dubiety stressing their parents in addition to (to a express degree) myself every bit well.  Kudos to the immature spotted towhee (the commencement to travel born on our farm; see Towhee Romance) who seems to travel perfectly capable of finding his/her ain food.

In unopen to ways, it is reassuring to know that our avian neighbors pose upwards amongst demanding children only every bit nosotros humans do; on the other hand, their duties are over inside a few months!