Recent Yard Birds - 09 Dec 2013

Cooper's Hawk

Here in Wyandotte I've had a couple of nice yard birds. A few weeks ago I was treated to a pair of Carolina Wrens that made a first appearance in the back yard.  They were followed by a pair of White-breasted Nuthatches and several pair of Black-capped Chickadees.  An adult Sharp-shinned Hawk made an early morning perch in the maple tree in the back of the yard last Sunday morning. Three Dark-eyed Juncos continue to grace the feeders late in the afternoon. And just yesterday I had a nice Red-bellied Woodpecker make a brief appearance on the telephone pole in the alley.

I had just returned from Willow Run Airport to see the Snowy Owl when three Blue Jays made a visit to the water fountain in the yard.  One bird posed on the branch of the maple tree and stayed long enough for me to photograph it through the back window.  The open garage made for a nice backdrop.

At lunchtime today, I was just about to head back to work when I noticed all the birds were gone in the yard. An adult Cooper's Hawk was perched in the trees and was getting unwanted attention from one of the resident squirrels.  I grabbed the spotting scope and attempted to digiscope it through the back window, but branches obscured its head (unless it ducked forward). At one point it stretched and preened, and I was able to grab a shot or two. Note the dark cap and intense stare.

I then ran upstairs and opened the back door to the roof, where I had a unobstructed view of the hawk.  I proceeded to fire off 340 digiscoped images w/ the Nikon V1 and 10-30mm lens attached to the Zeiss 85T*Fl and 20-75X Zoom Eyepiece via the Digidapter™.  Despite the overcast skies I was satisfied to save 140 of the images, all taken through the glass door.  As soon as I attempted to open the door the hawk flew off down the alley.

2506 21st Street, Wyandotte, Wayne, Michigan, US
Dec 9, 2013 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments:     Yard survey
8 species

Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)  1
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)  1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  3
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  2
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  2
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)  2
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)  3

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S100928175

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)