I never go out the door without my camera. No matter where I'm going - to go grocery shopping, to the library, even just around the corner to the convenience store. The camera is always with me.
So this afternoon I went down to the library, and on the way back I got a treat. I was coming up Spring St. in front of the mini antique row when I saw a bigger-sized bird sitting on the hedge in front of the John Clarke Memorial Baptist Church. I stopped dead and looked, and sure enough, it was an immature Sharp-shinned Hawk.
So I pulled out the camera and got some shots of it on the hedge:
After a while it flew up on top of the church sign:
And after a while it flew up into a nearby tree:
Altogether I took about 20 shots, and these three are the best of the lot.
In case you're interested, Sharp-shinned Hawks are the smallest of the Accipiter family, which include Cooper's Hawks and Goshawks. Sharp-shinneds are a little smaller than Crows and feed on small birds and small critters like mice and shrews and such.
So now you see why I always make sure my camera comes with me, no matter how short the trip.
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Comments: 40
Happy New Year!
Thanks for the warning, Roy. I really did have to flip through these pictures quickly. I never heard of this variety, but it looked like a Cooper's Hawk, since I had a dastardly close encounter with one of those last year.
Those were great pictures, from the little I saw of them as I quickly flipped through them.
I need to go throw up, now.
elizabeth e., Jan 3, 2009, 4:52pm EST
OK. I thought she said, "interesting breast feeders".
Your photos are prize-winners all the way around.
Ina, I remember your horror over a hawk only doing what comes naturally to hawks, so I figured the warning was needed. And yes, there's a close resemblance between Cooper's and Sharp-shinneds because they're very close cousins.
Lynn, I have a Canon PowerShot S5 IS; it's an 8-megapixel with a 12x zoom. At max zoom it's the equivalent of a 432mm lens. And I always use manual mode, so aperture and shutter speed were tweaked on the spot to get the best possible clarity.
Dannielle, both Cooper's and Sharp-shinneds in their adult plumage are a blue-gray on the back and head and the plumage on the chest is a lighter chestnut/red color. But this is an immature, and in both Cooper's and Sharp-shinned the coloration is brown, and on Sgarp-shinneds the brown is often mottled with white.
Steph, I have a real thing for hawks.
Roy, it looks like you know a lot about birds. Jean (just the teensiest etc.) needed help with this guy the other day.
Ref: Aniko's comment about Jean's posting...
You can google birds, by state on the Audubon (sp?) society pages. And the state conservation website should be able to tell you what kind of bird it is, based on the photo you send them.
Blessings,
Wilka
It never fails when I leave my camera at home, I see something of value. You'd think I'd learn ya know? But no I don't take it with me everywhere (cause I'm afraid of my sticky finger coworkers pilfering something).
Great catch!
..
U wishing you laughter