At a nature center near our house, a barn owl smacked the window so hard it left an impression.
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I have had them fly fairly close to me. Swooping past from tree to tree. I came upon one near work, it looked like it was digging for something in the dirt. It flew right past my face. So, yeah, I have had really good looks at their markings. My mom took a pic of one preening on her deck.
If there are hawks watching your feeder it is almost certainly a Coopers or its lookalike smaller cousin the sharp shinned. Goshawk also in cooler regions. These birds are in the Accipiter group, which are mainly bird eaters.
Thanks.
Yeah, I was pretty sure it was a Cooper's hawk. My next-door neighbor was all fired up about seeing an eagle in my yard recently. Well, I'm not him, and maybe he saw one when i wasn't even home, but i suspect he saw the Cooper's hawk and thought it was an eagle.
Even though it is not an eagle and doesn't have an 80-inch wing span, it was still a pretty impressive sight.
slate juncos just blew into town, munching lots of seed...they spend a week or so, then off they go...
I think a rough winter could be in the cards.. So many winter finches this early.. Friend of mine has evening grosbeaks at his feeders in Madison NC..
I saw a saw whet owl at Stone Mountain sp a few years ago.
There is a little grove of cedar trees on the Roaring River near the old church. He was sitting on a branch next to the trunk with his eyes closed, snoozing away.
pine siskins and slate juncos hitting The Grand Buffet with great exuberance, picking thru the snow to get their seeds...
No siskins today, but purple finches in abundance. A few house finches, downy woodpeckers,white breasted nuthatches, ,Carolina chickadees, titmice, Carolina wren.
They are really sometimes easy to call up with a recording especially in winter in the NC mountains.
Yes. All titmice have tufts. Their close relatives the chickadees do not. Just looked out at the feeder and there are five pine siskins and a handful of goldfinches on the nyger feeder now, the sunflower feeders are covered with purple and house finches. And a few cardinals also eating sunflower seed and now a brown headed nuthatch joining the white breasted on the suet.
I live 20 minutes from Stone Mountain so I'm up there all the time. Saw a Barred Owl on the loop trail last year. Love to hear those things call at night. Not bird related but my buddy had a black bear cross the road in front of him not far from the lower parking lot two weeks ago.
I saw a female Golden Crowned Kinglet in my yard Sunday and a Purple Finch as well.
Had two golden crowned kinglets hanging around the suet over the weekend. Just had a pine warbler drop by as well.