The hawk who almost came to a budgie dinner

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 10 September 2009 10:54

Backyard birds may be peeping toms — hungry ones, Bruce Beebe of Wilton discovered recently “Mid-afternoon Sunday I was stunned to see a grayish hawk (Cooper’s?) sitting on my terrace, three feet from the house wall and four feet beneath a mullioned window behind which is a large cage housing three parakeets, and, I realized later, in full view, a stuffed robin toy — squeeze it and it replicates the robin’s ‘song.’ Upon seeing me, but taking its time, the hawk lifted itself atop a market umbrella and told me off by defecating on the umbrella. It then took off for a nearby oak.

“I opened the porch door for fresh air for my budgies, but the screen door remained shut. I left the porch, thinking the hawk had been stunned hitting the window and would depart, grateful that it had not done greater damage to itself.

Five minutes later, Bruce said, “I heard an explosion at the porch screen door” — the sound of the hawk hitting the screen.

“Sure enough the hawk had returned for its prey, either the parakeets or the stuffed robin toy, or both. Failing to break in, the hawk retired to the oak tree, only to fly away when I went outside to tell him/her it was not welcome in my home.

“This was not his/her first visit. A week before he/she made itself known, cawing in the nearby woods. And about that time, sitting on the terrace, I heard a loud bang on a nearby house wall and saw the hawk wing its way into the woods but was unable to see if it had caught its intended prey.

“I usually associate a noisy hawk with a youthful bird, and perhaps this potential home invader was just getting its wings wet with hunting. It would have been better off preying on birds at my feeder.”

Birds at the Lakes

Janet Swift, who lives at the Ridgefield Lakes, has noticed some interesting birds recently.

“As the sun rises over East Beach, it lights up the shore on this side and birds that never come to my front yard feeders are concentrated along my lakefront shortly after dawn,” Janet writes. “A pair of tiny flycatchers caught my eye this morning — not gray, but yellowish brown in the sunlight. Unlike some, they didn’t launch themselves over the water but frequently sat on the fence that’s near the water or a branch and made a foray down to the ground or into the woods and back. I didn’t hear them so can only say they must have been of the Empidonax family. I did see an Eastern Pewee the other day and they’re usually resident all summer.

“In addition to the usual birds, while studying the flycatchers, I also spotted Cedar Waxwings passing through and a Black-and-white Warbler. I’ve seen one so often this week, maybe there’s more than one around.

“One of my favorite sights this summer has been the Great Blue Heron that frequently stands atop the beaver lodge that can be seen from Limestone Road. One visits my yard but this is far more picturesque.”

Coming Up

Trip to Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center at Milford Point, with Joan and Richard Becker, Saturday, Sept. 12, 10 from Katonah, Bedford Audubon, jebecker @ bedfordaudubon.org or 914-232-4806. bedfordaudubon.org

Raptors for Rookies, with Anne Swaim, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2 to 3:30, Saw Mill River Audubon, at Westmoreland Sanctuary, 260 Chestnut Ridge Road, Bedford Corners, N.Y., 914-666-8448

Bird Banding Demonstrations Wednesdays, Sept. 16 and 23, 7:30-8:30 a.m., $13, Connecticut Audubon Society Birdcraft Museum, 314 Unquowa Road, Fairfield, 203-259-0416

A Colony on the Edge: the Struggle to Save Connecticut’s Only Roseate Tern Colony, on Faulkner’s Island, Rick Potvin, manager of McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, Thursday, Sept. 17, 6:30 (talk at 7:15), free, Western Conn. Bird Club, at Kensington Green, 655 Main Street-South, Southbury, 203-426-3901

Fall migration at Chestnut Ridge Hawk Watch, with Bedford Audubon experts, Friday, Sept. 18, 10 to 1, Butler Sanctuary, Chestnut Ridge Road, Bedford Corners, N.Y. bedfordaudubon.org

11th Annual Hawk Watch Weekend and Fairfield County’s Green Faire, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 19 sand 20, 11 to 5, Audubon Greenwich, greenwich.audubon.org, 203-869-5272 x239.

Monhegan Island, fall migration hotspot in Maine, four day birding trip, Sept. 24 to 27, Connecticut Audubon, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 800-996-8747.

Swallow Spectacular, up to 500,000 Tree Swallows gathering on the lower Connecticut River, sunset cruises, Sept. 2, 6, 9, 13, 16, 20, 25, 27, and 30, $35, Connecticut Audubon, Essex, 860-767-0660

Block Island Weekend, three-day fall migration birding trip, Oct. 2 to 4, Connecticut Audubon, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 800-996-8747.

Hook Mountain Hawk Watch, on the Hudson River, with Audubon Greenwich, includes moderate half-mile uphill hike, Saturday, Oct. 17, 9 to 3, RSVP with Ted at 203-869-5272 x230.

Cove Island Park Bird Sanctuary, migrants and shorebirds in Stamford, Sunday, Oct. 18, 8 to 11 a.m., Greenwich Audubon, RSVP required: Call Brian 203-869-5272 x221.

Autumn Migration Bird Walks, every Saturday, 7 to 8:45 a.m., in September meet at Audubon Greenwich, 613 Riversville Road; in October, at Fairchild Sanctuary, North Porchuck Road in Greenwich, free, 203-869-5272 x221, greenwich.audubon.org

Bird Walks with Luke Tiller, To register, sunrisebirding.com/walks.htm; 203-981-9924, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

First Sundays, birding at Greenwich Point with Meredith Sampson of Wild Wings, and other guides, meet at the second concession stand, 203-637-9822.

Copyright (c) 2009 by Jack Sanders. Send sightings or comments to: jackfsanders [at sign] yahoo.com, or to Bird Notes, Box 1019, Ridgefield, CT 06877; or call 203-438-1183, extension BIRD (2473), and leave a message with your report, spelling your first and last names and telling us your town. If you need help identifying a bird, try your local nature center. If you find an injured bird, call wildlife rehabilitator Darlene Wimbrow of Redding, 203-438-0618, Wildlife in Crisis of Weston, 203-544-9913, or Wild Wings of Greenwich, 203-637-9822. The columnist’s website is www. sandersbooks. com.