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Post by Gord on Dec 12, 2020 22:14:11 GMT -8
Recently, we came home from an outing and my wife shared she saw a small hawk catch a small bird. It was still sitting in one of our trees and we noticed, a young Cooper's Hawk and probably a male by its small size,had a band. I went outside to try and get a photo to read the number. I was about to go back inside and remembered I had a rat in a trap I had not yet disposed of. On a whim, I removed it and threw it into the yard near the hawk. Right away it dove at it as it was falling to the ground. It was interesting how the little hawk hopped around the rat and several times lunged at it with wings outstretched. It was almost like it was trying to get it to move? Often the small hawks will crawl into the bushes to flush small birds out so they can catch them in open ground. After a couple mock attacks it grabbed the rat and half-flew with it to the garden. The whole family enjoyed watching it eat almost half the rat! Hungry little fella. We heard back from the band reporting site that the bird had been banded in Yarrow in August of this year. We've seen him almost daily since.  019_0853 by Gord G, on Flickr  019_0879 by Gord G, on Flickr I also did a video of the hawk eating. I hope it isn't too grisly!  The small birds in the yard sure made their displeasure known. The Bushtit flock was in the bushes just overhead during part of the video. And of course the Anna's Hummingbird stopped by to scold as well. I wonder if it's the same one that went after the raccoon that was in the birdbath earlier this summer.  Link to the video www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_lEjm0LqbA |
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Post by Dave on Dec 12, 2020 23:00:18 GMT -8
Wow! Quite the backyard experience. I didn’t know birds were being banded in Yarrow.
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Post by Randy on Dec 13, 2020 7:38:26 GMT -8
Very cool Gord! I have to admit when I first read the title I thought it was a rat eating a Cooper's hawk! I know our rats are big but that would have been something else!  |
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Post by imperialbirders on Dec 13, 2020 13:16:26 GMT -8
Hi Gord
What a great post. Super photos and video. We catch mice in victor traps and put them out in our back yard. Their corpses usually disappear by the next day. We always thought it was racoons or coyotes that scavenged them but we could also be feeding the hawks and owls.
Thanks Gord
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Post by oldfulica on Dec 13, 2020 17:32:07 GMT -8
Recently, we came home from an outing and my wife shared she saw a small hawk catch a small bird. It was still sitting in one of our trees and we noticed, a young Cooper's Hawk and probably a male by its small size,had a band. I went outside to try and get a photo to read the number. I was about to go back inside and remembered I had a rat in a trap I had not yet disposed of. On a whim, I removed it and threw it into the yard near the hawk. Right away it dove at it as it was falling to the ground. It was interesting how the little hawk hopped around the rat and several times lunged at it with wings outstretched. It was almost like it was trying to get it to move? Often the small hawks will crawl into the bushes to flush small birds out so they can catch them in open ground. After a couple mock attacks it grabbed the rat and half-flew with it to the garden. The whole family enjoyed watching it eat almost half the rat! Hungry little fella. We heard back from the band reporting site that the bird had been banded in Yarrow in August of this year. We've seen him almost daily since. Great story and pix Gord. |
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Post by Gord on Dec 13, 2020 20:26:51 GMT -8
Dave, I wasn't aware of that either. I've been meaning to reach out to the bander to ask if there's a project going on. It might be interesting.
Randy, that was quite a misleading title to my post. Actually quite a disturbing mistype!
Thanks, Len and Mike. Mike, it's nice to do that. Even though the rodents are undesirable, it's a good thing if it can help the wildlife. I'm sure our feeder birds appreciated the rat-filled hawk that I'm sure needed to go somewhere quiet to digest that full crop.
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Post by kenneth2019 on Dec 13, 2020 20:44:13 GMT -8
LOL, the thoughts of a rat eating a hawk.
In Montney our outside cat delivered 5 to 6 mice to the doorstep daily. I threw them out onto the lawn and watched the Ravens swoop in as soon as I was inside. (Note: strictly indoor cat since we moved to Hope)
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Post by Gord on Dec 24, 2021 15:06:49 GMT -8
Yesterday we had a nice adult Cooper's Hawk in the yard. We saw it was banded and I managed a photo of the band. 141 appears to be on it which was on the one that ate the rat last year. That's some coincidence if a different bird. It's even a male which we think he is given the smaller size. For now, we're thinking it's the same bird as last year! So neat.  _0218374 by Geordie LaForge, on Flickr  _0218375 by Geordie LaForge, on Flickr |
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Post by imperialbirders on Dec 25, 2021 11:29:58 GMT -8
Merry Christmas to you and your family
Lovely shot of the Cooper's. I am sure it is a returning bird also.
We are feeding a lot of birds and they are ravenous with this terrible weather. In the early dawn of the morning, they are waiting for Trudy to bring out the feeders and some land on the feeders and begin eating as she carries them to the stands.
Best wishes
Mike
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The small birds in the yard sure made their displeasure known. The Bushtit flock was in the bushes just overhead during part of the video. And of course the Anna's Hummingbird stopped by to scold as well. I wonder if it's the same one that went after the raccoon that was in the birdbath earlier this summer. 
