Saturday, March 30, 2019

Saturday Critters ~ 276 ~

Sitting in my home office, 
I glanced out the window and noticed how still the feeders are.
The food I placed into the feeders yesterday is still there,
no one has been by to eat the seeds or drink from the bird bath.

Where there once was "standing room - waiting room" only at the feeders...
now there is nothing!

And then, what to my wondering eyes should appear...
a huge low flying hawk right across the back yard.
The same hawk the hubs had seen the day before.

Is he using my yard as part of his flight pattern?

My Mockingbirds have returned, I have not seen them all winter.
Perhaps they did not receive the hawk memo. 
They are easy to observe and very easy to photograph!

I did see several Male Cardinals this week.

The Song Sparrows eat primarily off the ground.

I see The Male Downy Woodpeckers every day, they are here year round and only eat suet.

I keep hoping the activity will return to normal,
but with that said, I am glad the birds are smart enough to stay out of harms way.

Sharing today with
Eileen at Viewing Nature With Eileen
and Anni at 
I'd Rather B Birdin'

16 comments:

Sandi said...

The hawk is scaring them off... :(

Love the Cardinal!

"...what to my wondering eyes should appear..."

How cemented some words are in our minds! This took me to Christmas instantly.

:)

eileeninmd said...

Hello, even with the hawk around you were able to catch some beautiful birds and photos. I hope they know to stay safe. Lovely images. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend. PS, thanks for the comment on my blog.

Judy said...

Hiding in the trees and bushes. Smart little birds.

David M. Gascoigne, said...

A wonderful gallery of bird pictures, Debbie. Not all hawks are a great threat to songbirds, but if the raptor you are seeing is a falcon or an accipiter they had better be careful!

21 Wits said...

Oh those darn hawks they spoil everything! Hopefully they'll move on soon. Enjoy your weekend and whatever adventure you and hubby will find.

Debbie said...

something got into a dove nest at the next door neighbors. i saw all of the feathers on the ground, the little girl that lives there told me she saw eggs, she was heartbroken. there is a very distinct change in the habit of the birds that visit my feeders. something is keeping them away!

Adam Jones said...

Superb close up shots. The Downy Woodpecker stands out as my favourite.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

You really do get amazing close ups my friend! And the Downy is one of my favorites. We have one that flies into the finch feeder sometimes. Happy weekend! Hope that Hawk stays away!

Ruth Hiebert said...

You are still seeing some beautiful birds.Thanks for sharing these pictures.

Marie Smith said...

We can tell when the hawks are hunting near the boardwalk because the usual birds are missing and silent.

You photos are amazing, as always, Debbie.

Anu said...

Hello. Wonderful photos. The Downy Woodpecker is so beautiful woodpecker.

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

Now that is funny because I usually have many birds are my feeders and yesterday most of them were somewhere else Lovely images Debbie

Karen Lakis said...

Oh no - I hope your birds stay safe and the hawk moves on!

Lowcarb team member said...

Such great photographs Debbie … stay safe little birds.

All the best Jan

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

They’ll stay away until the hawk decides they’re gone and leaves for other neighborhoods. You saw quite a few nice birds anyway though. Our mockingbirds are back and singing their hearts out!

Brian King said...

Beautiful photos! We didn't have a hawk issue over the winter, though we did have a mockingbird problem. LOL! Mockingbirds are very territorial and we had one that literally ran all the other birds away. Constantly.