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| Sharp-Shinned Hawks have been migrating in numbers these past weeks, following their cherished food source: songbirds. This juvenile, like many of its peers, thrives on the unnatural local abundance created by bird feeders, making Sharp-Shinned Hawks quite common in cities, and possibly more numerous overall than they have been historically. |
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| While most are headed South, some Sharpies will remain for the winter. Next spring, there will be less than half the number of Sharpies we are seeing this Fall due to winter and migration mortality. The rest will be eaten by Peregrine Falcons and other larger raptors, or struck but some other hazard along the way that will send them back into the nutrient cycle to be recycled into many other lifeforms. |
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| This other juvenile is developing the rufous adult breast. Also visible are the white specks on the back that are not illustrated in my field guide (!). The presence of these bird-eating hawks is often given away by how scarce songbirds become when they're around. Everything is connected out there, in a subtle balance we can tune into if we quiet our minds and observe. |
