It was a harsh but interesting raptor/prey week here at the Stivland ranch in Plymouth. This morning, as I was about to pour the milk on my granola, there was a disheartening “thump” on the kitchen window. So I set down the milk and looked out the window, expecting to see one of my little buddies lying on the deck with his feet in the air. But instead a little female Cardinal was clutching the window frame, pressing her nose (I mean her bill) against the glass. She seemed OK, eyes open, alert, perhaps not injured. So I slowly moved to the patio door and carefully opened it far enough to peek around at the Cardinal. There she was – motionless – trying to blend in (that is, as much as you can blend in when you are red and brown against a white vinyl background). I looked up just in time to see an accipiter zipping toward me at what must have been 100 MPH. Whew! Fortunately, just before he (or she) hit me he did a 180 and kept going – out of sight through the oaks. I say “fortunately” because I did not have a back-up plan if he had zipped past my head into the kitchen. Share my left-over chicken, I guess. But I think I have some idea what it is like to be the target of an accipiter – man, can they move! And are they ever maneuverable! Oh, ya – mama Cardinal flew away – this time.
Earlier in the week, our Red-shouldered Hawk made an appearance (we don’t actually own the bird – they just show up about this time every year). For a time it perched on the Comcast cable in the back yard, then took off to the east. My wife happened to be looking out the east window and saw it dive into the raspberries and “pounce” on something. It flew back to a tree perch with something furry in its talons, probably a vole of some sort. My wife refused to watch – “I don’t want to see it eaten alive”, she said. It wouldn’t have mattered, that hawk ate that vole in no time flat. Even though it is November it is still a new day – every day! Sid Stivland Plymouth, MN ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
