No there were no magicians in the garden. When I let Annie outside this afternoon (02/20) I saw a good sized gray bird come up off the ground. I knew right away it was an unusual bird to see in a garden, at least our garden.
I alerted my DB then went outside to try to see if it stayed close. I knew it was carrying its prey.
Sure enough I found him up in our catalpa tree about to have his dinner. It was drizzling rain but my DB got some good shots of this little falcon
We have House Sparrows aplenty. I don't mind a bit if he takes a few this winter.
He wasn't a bit shy about eating with us fairly close watching. This told me that he was very hungry.
To put this sighting in perspective we often don't see this bird every year, any place, let alone in our garden. A fabulous new bird sighting for our garden, number 124 for me. A good omen for the start of this birding year.
That's exciting, Lisa! I've seen a lot of hawks here lately, some clearly watching the smaller birds at our feeders, but I rarely get one close enough to get a good photo.
ReplyDeleteSurvival of the fittest ~ great photos of the predator bird ~ ^_^
ReplyDeleteHappy Moments to You,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Glad you 'fastened your seat belt' for the New Year wheel turning ~ Thanks for visiting and commenting ~ ^_^
ReplyDeleteHappy Moments to You,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
That is sooo cool. Where we now live, I am in constant awe at all the birds and the varieties. They really are fun to see. 124?! That's a lot of different birds. Happy 2020!
ReplyDeleteHow exciting to see this little raptor in action in your garden.
ReplyDeleteI am so fond of house sparrows. :<(( But happy for you to have seen it. Since we aren't feeding the birds this year, I haven't seen any birds. It is very quiet. I assume they are all up in the deep woods, cozy and warm-ish and we will see them come spring.
ReplyDeleteThanks for 'visiting' and your lovely supportive comments ^_^
ReplyDeleteHappy Moments to You,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
I could always tell when a hawk was in the vicinity of my old garden because all the little birds disappeared. I haven't seen any here but maybe it's because I live in town and there are lots of places for birds to hide.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! It's always exciting to see a rare visitor in the garden and you have seen so many varieties of birds! We had a hawk a few years ago when I was wondering why there were no birds at the feeder. Then I saw him sitting right there in the tree. He stayed for two days then left.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for your visit and comments and hope you had a lovely weekend ~
ReplyDeleteHappy Moments to You,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Lisa this is an amazing "catch" ! They are stunning to see and in action as well .. we saw sparrow hawk quite a few years ago in the back garden and , in action, which made me shiver but nature is nature .. these hunting birds are so swift and shy at times it is so hard to get decent pictures but kudos on that accomplishment !
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year !
Good to 'see you' this morning and thanks for your comment on my blog ^_^
ReplyDeleteHappy Moments to You,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Very exciting! I've never seen a Merlin.
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by and commenting ~ am just glad it is rain ~ ^_^
ReplyDeleteHappy Moments to You,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)