Under Attack! Northern Harrier; Bird of Prey

[Freedom]

I have bird feeders in the back yard, and I keep them filled from late October through mid May. We get lots of sparrows, chickadees, and dark eyed juncos. This year we have three PAIRS of cardinals (3 rec males, 3 brown / gold females). Of course we get squirrel raiders, seen as many as 3 squirrels out there at a time. We have one downy woodpecker:

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q57/sfsamm/Dec%2020%20Bird%20of%20Prey/IMG_0935.jpg

And we have ONE unwelcome visitor who also comes to "dine" in our backyard. Been trying to get a photo for a while, and finally did!

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q57/sfsamm/Dec%2020%20Bird%20of%20Prey/IMG_0932.jpg

I think maybe it is a red tail hawk, not positive.
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q57/sfsamm/Dec%2020%20Bird%20of%20Prey/IMG_0933.jpg

The "suicidal squirrel" who drove Sugar crazy all last Spring, and who has appeared here on PT numerous times, was also present. :rolleyes: He was NOT chattering as he does with the dogs and cats, however. Guess he does have SOME brains!
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q57/sfsamm/Dec%2020%20Bird%20of%20Prey/IMG_0934.jpg

Unfortunately, the bird of prey DOES dine here sometimes; we find the pile of feathers and tiny bones to prove it.

[pitc9]

OMG! That squirrel is in for a rude awakening when he gets a little further up the tree! That's too funny!

The hawk is Beautiful!

[cassiesmom]

Wow, look at the hawk! It took me a moment to find him in his first picture. Squirrel, you better watch out!

[Freedom]

Just checked my bird book. It is a Northern Harrier!

[columbine]

Well, if something's eating your songbirds, I'd look for another suspect - both redtails and northern harriers are rodent-eaters (so that squirrel's number could come up any day!)

Love, Columbine

[K9soul]

It's possible it's a Cooper's hawk. Juveniles are marked very similarly to Northern Harriers. They are also notorious for staking out bird feeders. But either species will sometimes take smaller birds as prey, though more common for a Cooper's hawk to do so.

Here is a page with some photos of mature and juveniles.

http://www.geocities.com/tgrey41/Pages/CoopersHawkp.html

The Cooper's tend to have a smaller thinner head, and the Northern Harrier a more owlish head. I honestly have trouble telling them apart from a distance.

ETA: This page talks about how they can take up residence at places that feed song birds: http://www.illinoisraptorcenter.org/Field%20Guide/cooper.html

[Freedom]

Thanks for the info, Columbine and K9 Soul. Now I don't know what it is for sure; but it is marvelous to see, soaring over the open field behind our house.

Cooper's Hawk is not in my bird guide. the one I have is the Audubon Society Posket Series, Birds of North America, Eastern Region. I did check and Cooper's Hawks do come in this area. K9Soul, The photos on the link are so good!

[Argranade]

That's a young female coopers hawk indeed! :)

They have very good hearing and that's how they catch their prey most of the time, they'll be on a tree then on the other side of a wall could be a bird... instead of having to fly over looking for prey it can hear it very well so they do a surprise attack. I had a coopers hawk take one of my pigeons. Very beautiful and smart birds. I'd suggest moving that bird feeder closer to a bush or somthing this way the song birds will have a place to escape when that bird attacks, they will have a less chance of getting killed if the bird feeder is not out in the open! I attached a photo of a coopers hawk, you can see the detail very well.

[DJFyrewolf36]

Birds of prey are beautiful creatures! My parents got Red Tailed hawks in thier yard all the time going after mice and squrells. I haven't seen any hawks or the like here yet but Im sure its only a matter of time.

Thanks for sharing!