Friday, December 10, 2010

A REDBIRD'S DEMISE


We all know that life in the wild isn't quite so cutesy sanitized as many of those T.V. nature shows would have you believe. Reality is harsh, raw…and often colored a bloody crimson. "Red in tooth and claw," was how Tennyson put it. Every living thing eats to survive. And sometimes that space between eating and being eaten, the juncture between life and death, is measured by a fraction of a second. 

Late yesterday, more than an hour after the sun had disappeared over the western horizon, in the near-darkness of the hurried winter twilight, something thumped against my deskside window…which, as I looked up, was immediately followed by a much louder thump. 

Whump WHUMP! 

I jerked in startled reaction, even as I watched the bigger bird pin the smaller bird to the glass. I also saw in that brief instant that the big bird was some type of small hawk, and the prey was the pretty male cardinal which had been busily feeding on sunflower seeds from the basket hanging under the eave. 

Cardinals are always one of the first birds to come to the feeders in the morning, often arriving while dawn is only a faint eastern glow, and one of the last to leave in the evening, regularly sticking around until they're only silhouettes in the waning dusk. This scarlet-feathered fellow had lingered a moment too long.

The hawk—which I recognized by its small size and proportionately diminutive head shape as a sharp-shinned—flew over to the wooden fence along the yard's side boundary, a hundred feet away, carrying the limp cardinal tucked underneath, clutched securely by sharp talons. After landing atop the fence the sharpie sat for a couple of minutes, as they usually do, making sure its soon-to-be meal was dead. Then it began quickly plucking the redbird—yanking out gobs of bright feathers which were dropped over both sides of the fence. I couldn't have de-feathered that cardinal any quicker or better myself.

Plucking completed, the sharp-shinned polished off its warm supper, making short work of what was really a rather large meal. Then the hawk flew off across the river. The darkness was by then so complete that if it hadn't been for the bird's lighter underwings and a band of white at the tip of the tail, I wouldn't have been able to track its flight.

[Photographic/bird notes: I apologize for an admittedly poor image. When I shot this—which is only a very small portion of the frame—it was not nearly so bright out as the picture appears. In fact it was too dark to read the headlines on a newspaper. I had the camera's ISO cranked to the maximum. The 200mm lens (a 300mm since I'm shooting digital) was braced against the window glass so I could handhold at 1/30th of a second. And once I'd uploaded the image to iPhoto, I did all I could to brighten, sharpen, and add contrast. It actually came out better than I expected. And for you birders who may be looking at what seems to be a more rounded tail, and thus thinking it's a Cooper's rather than a sharp-shinned, know that it's just a quirk of this particular frame; others do show the more squared-off shape. I have Cooper's visiting regularly, and not only was this bird much smaller, but the key differences were also visible. I'm pretty sure I have it right…but I'm open to debate.]  
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34 comments:

Wanda..... said...

I will soon post a photo of a beautiful hawk perched on the gazebo with his eyes on our bird feeder. Earlier this fall, the body of one was found in the field, made me wonder of it's demise.

George said...

An interesting post, Grizz, as always. Such scenes are grim reminders of that truth that lies at the foundation of much religion and philosophy, specifically, that life requires the taking of life. Most of us would rather put our heads in the ground than come to terms with the implications of that reality.

Grizz………… said...

Wanda…

I'm looking forward to your photo. Anyone who feeds birds must eventually come to terms with the fact that while feeders attract seed/grain eating birds, such birds themselves attract hawks. And they eye our feeders the same way your might look at cream pies in a bakery. Hummmmm…what's for lunch?

As to the hawk found in the field—could have been anything from accident to illness to someone shooting it because they didn't want a "mean old hawk" killing and eating their feeder birds. Could have just been old age, too, I guess. You do have to wonder, though.

MorningAJ said...

I guess you have to accept that something's going to die if you appreciate the hawk. And they are magnificent birds. You did really well with the photo.

Grizz………… said...

George…

I guess "grim" depends on which side of the supper table you're sitting at—and whether your hand prepared or furnished the meal. If you grew up on a farm, that platter of chicken is traceable—often through first-hand experience—right back through the poultry pen to the henhouse, chicken, chick, egg. There's nothing abstract about the food you're about to put into your mouth. But if all you know of chicken is that it comes in a red-and-white bucket from KFC, you're well outside the reality loop. Life indeed requires the taking of life. Becoming a vegetarian doesn't change that immutable fact, but simply stretches the equation.

I have nothing against anyone buying their meat in shrink-wrapped packages at the grocery, or becoming vegetarians, what worries me is where too much of this reality-avoidance leads. For example, if a steak is simply a steak and not part of a now-dead cow, how can I expect that person who's about to pluck the package of sirloins from the bin to have any concern re. how that animal was treated, or what it was fed? Does anyone much care when they sit down to their Thanksgiving turkey that they're eating a bird (yes, a once-live but now-deceased BIRD!) bred for the consumer who demands mostly white—i.e. breast—meat and that as a living creature it could barely walk, let alone fly?

But the worry extends well beyond the simplicities of food…into, as you pointed out, religion and philosophy, also law, and medicine, and agriculture and…well, practically forever. The bottom line is the best decisions are always made with both the head and the heart, and when we become so dissociated from such a fundamental reality, all of humanity suffers.

Grizz………… said...

MorningAJ…

They are wonderful birds. And you do have to accept them…for the simple truth is, that hawk was just being a hawk. Nothing more. A hawk attacking a redbird isn't any more vicious than a robin attacking a June bug.Or any less.

Julie Baumlisberger said...

I watched a small hawk take a sunny little chickadee from a feeder in broad daylight two winters ago...As the moment of shock passed, we realized that we had witnessed Nature's truth, with all as it should be...whether we liked it or not.

Freda said...

Looks like what we call a sparrow hawk. We have a couple that hunt in our garden. As you say, nature can be hard.

Scott said...

I put sunflowers in my feeder at lunchtime today, and then I noticed there were no birds around. Strange, considering it's so cold. Then, as I came back outside, I noticed the Cooper's Hawk perched in a small tree just a few yards away--hence, the lack of birds at the feeder. My comings and goings startled a small bird (Chickadee or Titmouse) lying low in a shrub, and the hawk was off in a flash. I couldn't observe the denouement.

Carolyn H said...

Grizz: This is a really good photo of a hawk and prey. I just might disagree with you that it's a sharpie, though. I'm looking at the width of the white on the end of the tail, which is wider in the Cooper's than the sharpie (where it's often barely visible). I can't be sure but that would be my guess based on this one photo.

Carolyn H.

Grizz………… said...

Julie…

I see hawks here almost daily, and regularly see them catch birds. A few weeks ago a redtail managed a squirrel. I hate it when they nab some birds such as cardinals, but it isn't my call. They're just hunting. You have to come to terms with such things if you're going to enjoy nature honestly.

Grizz………… said...

Freda…

A different bird, though about the same size and appearance. Over here when someone calls a hawk a sparrowhawk, they're using the old-time name for the bird we now call an American Kestrel.

Grizz………… said...

Scott…

I'd say that chickadee had a better than even chance of escape. I watch Cooper's dive on birds quite often, and maybe one out of five tries is successful. Most small birds bolt straight for the densest cover around. The hawk either has to catch it before it gets there, or the odds of a kill drop even more—though sometimes the Cooper's will wade into the cedars or grape tangles and emerge a minute or two later with lunch. What amazes me is when they get after, say, a cardinal and the redbird tries to outfly the hawk, dodging around trees, circling bushes, going up, down, twisting and turning…and it almost never works. Once that hawk gets behind and within a few yards, it's like a heat-seeking missile and almost impossible to shake off.

Bernie said...

I love seeing a hawk as it perches looking so strong and king like but I wouldn't like seeing this one eat its prey although I realize this is the way it is in nature......:-)Hugs

Grizz………… said...

Carolyn…

You might be right, but if so, it's by far the smallest Cooper's I've ever seen. That was a big cardinal—I know because I'd been watching it feed for several minutes as I worked at my desk. From where I sit to the feeder is about five feet. I have cardinals by the boatload all the time, and get a pretty good long look at such things as size. This one was about seven inches long. Looking at the picture, and afterwards measuring the plank that runs horizontally along the top (3-1/4 inches) I'd say the hawk is somewhere under 14 inches. A really small male Cooper's might be that small, I suppose. But I see Cooper's almost every day, and occasionally see them perch on the fence with their prey. The females look nearly twice this big, and most of the Cooper's I decide are males are still a lot larger than this noticeably smaller hawk.

Also, this hawk's head seemed proportionally small to its body compared to the Cooper's—like it had been slightly shrunk. Not as much neck, either, and the head looked a bit more rounded and evenly colored.

The rounding on the tail, though not unique to this frame only, also appears more squared off in many shots. The white tip is barely visible in many, or when seen from the rear.

I guess what convinces me as much as anything was that watching through binoculars, the hawk just looked off, wrong for a Cooper's. But…I could be mistaken. Wouldn't be the first time.

(Maybe I'll get another, better shot.)

Grizz………… said...

Bernie…

They do look majestic and decidedly dangerous with that hooked beak, sleek profile, and piercing eyes. Not a happy sight if you're sparrow or titmouse.

KGMom said...

A couple of years ago, when my comp class had windows with a good view of the campus' lawn, the students suddenly became totally distracted. A hawk had caught a squirrel, and was just sitting there very complacently holding the still struggling squirrel. After a while the squirrel went limp, and the hawk flew off holding its prey below it. The squirrel's tail flapped as a kind of sad symbol of the battle lost.
I nudged the class back to the task at hand. But, it was a diverting moment while it lasted.

Carolyn H said...

Griz: I could tell for sure if your bird was a coop or a sharpie if it was flying. Sitting is more difficult, i think. There's actually quite a bit of overlap between the female sharpie and the male coop in size. That's why seeing them in flight is the best way to tell them apart because the flight pattern and posture is distintive between the two then.

Grizz………… said...

KGMom…

Hawks are smart—they know to wait for their prey to die, if possible, before carrying it off. Nothing like a fatally injured but still not fully dead squirrel reviving enough to gnaw your leg off as you're flapping away to a favorite lunch spot.

The redtail that caught the squirrel here a few weeks ago must have sat on it for 10 minutes, glancing down every so often to see how things were going, before it deemed the squirrel dead enough to carry off.

Hilary said...

It always tugs at the heartstrings to see a beautiful creature stalked and killed. And yet hoping for its escape (as I tend to do) is really wishing hunger on the predator. Life works itself out in spite of my Disney-like views. Good work getting that shot despite the low lighting.

Grizz………… said...

Carolyn…

By the time the hawk had finished the cardinal and flew off across the river, it was really too dark to see. But when the hawk hit the window and grabbed the redbird, then flew over to the fence, I could watch it all the way, and it didn't seem to fly like a Cooper's, but faster in its flaps and like it was losing lift which I attributed to the weight of the cardinal.

I know there's a lot of overlap between the species size-wise, but I've just never seen a Cooper's—if that's what it was—so small. This one, though different shaped, of course, wasn't more than an inch or two bigger than a kestrel. And the proportion of head-to-body just looked noticeably smaller than a Cooper's. But I surely don't see a fraction of the hawks you do, so maybe it was Cooper's in the 12-14 inch range. I'm good with that, and just want to get it right on the I.D. So please don't every think a second about saying something.

Grizz………… said...

Hilary…

Whether it's a hawk taking a cardinal or a trout taking a mayfly, everything has to eat to live. If you feed the seed and suet eating birds, you're likely to eventually feed the bird eating birds. And hawks are just such beautiful creatures—I can never regret them making their living.

troutbirder said...

First time visitor enjoying beutiful landscape and wildlife photos. I'll stop back. Thanks

Grizz………… said...

Troutbirder…

Glad you liked what you found here…and please do visit again; you're always welcome.

Jayne said...

I'm with you... Sharpie. As hard as it is to see, we know that nature has a perfect system to keep things in balance... as it should be.

Grizz………… said...

Jayne…

I guess I still THINK it was a sharpie, too…but my faith is getting sorta shaky. I'm really only a mediocre birder. My problem is I don't see sharp-shinned hawks too often; I do see a Cooper's or two almost every day, and know from experience the size variation among their ranks. Whichever it was, it was no bigger—if quite as big—as the flicker I'm watching right at this moment.

Larger predators have always had a tough time with public relations. And the larger the predator, the tougher…usually. We have our exceptions. Seldom do you hear anyone gasp in horror when a bald eagle or osprey takes a fish. Or a blue heron or kingfisher, for that matter. Why? Because we care more for, say, cardinals than we do trout. Both are living creatures getting snatched and eaten as we watch—but only the redbird elicits a gasp from us because only the redbird has our empathy. And of course no one reacts when a robin yanks a worm from the ground and swallows it alive; we don't harbor an ounce of sympathy for worms.

But…and here's something I find interesting…some prey species fit into both the care/don't care camps, depending on who's doing the killing. Take that little mouse you caught, summarily dispatched (with malice aforethought) and wrote about on your blog this morning. Bet you didn't feel much sympathy. Lots of folks will trap a mouse and take great delight when they hear that bar snap on its neck—and yet they'll gasp and recoil, perhaps mumble about savagery, when the family cat catches a mouse on the patio and proceeds to eat it with what appears to be lip-licking relish.

We humans are a curious lot—we want nature to be all neat and tidy, though it is not. When that hawk took the cardinal within a couple of feet of where I sat, I could have dashed out the back door and around the corner, startling the hawk, which might have dropped its prey—and maybe that pretty ol' redbird would have survived. But I like hawks as well as cardinals. The hawk had simply done what hawks do to survive. I respect that. We all do the same, just in different ways. And with a chicken roasting in the oven for supper, its savory fragrance wafting throughout the cottage, I wasn't going to be a hypocrite.

Richard said...

Ok Grizz, I'll throw my 2 cents worth into the discussion. First for the record, I am not a raptor expert but I'll point out three or four things that I noticed. The white band at the tip of the tail is pretty wide. The eyes appear to be closer to the beak and not centered on the head. and last, the legs appear fairly sturdy (not stick like). All of these would indicate to me that this is a Cooper's Hawk (probably a male). And as you said the tail is rounded.

Now all of these things can just be from the angle of the picture. I also noticed that it appears larger then it seems judging by a comparison of the 2x4 size (3 1/2") and the size of the bird.

That's my observation and I could definitely be wrong on what I see.

Grizz………… said...

Richard…

Glad to have you jump into the discussion. Hey, your two-cent's worth is observant, well-reasoned, and much appreciated.

Since reading your comments, I've considered them point by point. I went out and remeasured the horizontal nailing rail along the fencetop—3-1/14 inches. (Yup, cheap materials and dimensionally slightly undersized.) I've also examined every other frame I shot, plus I've pulled up a couple hundred sharpie shots on the Internet and looked critically at those which show birds in similar stances, from sites I feel are trustworthy as to not themselves have labeled a Cooper's as a sharpie. Here's where I'm at:

The tail only appears rounded in about half the frames; in others it is squared off. Too, the white band doesn't look nearly as broad in many shots; in several it is barely visible. [Many Internet shots also show sharpies with rounded tails, some more rounded than my hawk's, and the white band can be as broad or broader. So, I think this is simply inconclusive…

Legs, stick-like or sturdy? This shot isn't much good re. that point, but looking at a few other frames, I'd say they look like the legs in many Internet images, and as I was watching the bird, I had the impression the legs were more delicate than those of a Cooper's. But I likely don't have enough sharpie experience to make a valid judgement. So for me, this is another wash…

The eye position…well, I REALLY am out of my legue on this one. Another maybe…

I do think I'm pretty good in saying the hawk was no more than 14-inches long, and probably less. I come to that by saying 7-inches on the cardinal, then taking the nailing rail width, and "measuring" every image in mine group against that—whereby I come up with something like 13 inches on the hawk, maybe even 12 inches. You're not seeing quite all of the cardinal in the posted shot; much of the head is hanging over on the back side of the fence. At any rate, I suppose that still means it could be a Cooper's…

Much of my opinion—call it a gut impression—is because of the hawk's really small size, no bigger than a flicker, and that it just didn't look quite right to me for a small male Cooper's. A couple of hours ago a friend and I were standing in the yard talking and a small Cooper's came in, lit in a hackberry tree for a few moments, then flew on. It was in the 16-17 inch range, but definitely noticeably bigger than the hawk in the photo, and definitely smaller than many of the Cooper's which I regularly see. I had no problem I.D.ing that bird as a Cooper's. So…I still don't know—but I'm guessing I'm probably wrong.

Tramp said...

This is how Nature is. Who are we to criticise? It is for us to observe and learn.
Hawks of various sizes right up to buzzards become more noticable here on the fields in the winter.
A few years ago we had a pair of small hawks nesting in the water tower in the village so we often saw them. Coming from the UK I was trying to distinguish whether they "kestrels" or "sparrow hawks", the terms used in the bird books I had. The conclusion was that there is much confusion over the naming of birds especially between countries.
Nevertheless the discussion on this post makes stimulating reading. It's not only at the bird feeders that you have visitors worth observing.
Incidently have you seen Solitary Walker's entry mentioning the decline and return of birds of prey in the UK?
...Tramp

Richard said...

My birding mentor always tells me "when in doubt, go with your first impression...it's normally right". So...Sharpie it is.

Grizz………… said...

Tramp…

First off—please excuse the long delay in my reply. The cable was out yesterday, probably due to a snowstorm that came thorough.

Bird names from country-to-country are particularly confusing as they birds may be closely related but not the same, yet carry the same name; they might be exactly the same and have a different name; or they might be a totally different species and have the same name. Of course a lot of the bird names we have here in the U.S. (and a few animal names, too) came from early European immigrants. You just can't depend on names when you travel…it's best to learn the bird and name all over. Which is the way it should be, and one of the fun things about traveling.

Just between you and me, Tramp, I don't think Solitary has ever written an uninteresting post. He might get a little loopy when he's well out there on the trail, and come up with some poem that makes you think he could have been over-sampling the local wines the evening before…but in their own zany way, the verses are at least interesting if not excellent, and having a few experiences of going slightly wacko on long trails yourself, you give him the benefit of the doubt and say it could be due to altitude—even if he's only about 20 feet above sea level. Who knows, the sea might be much, much higher over there?

Grizz………… said...

Richard…

As I told Tramp, we had no cable yesterday so I couldn't get back to you in a timely manner.

I'd say your mentor was right re. first impressions, except in my case I don't have enough sharpie experience to have a valid opinion. Just because it didn't "seem" like a Cooper's doesn't make it a sharpie. Experience counts, and so far as I'm concerned, trumps. You and Carolyn have that experience. Your first impressions were doubtless correct—and the hawk was a very small Cooper's.

Anonymous said...

I hadn't noticed riverdaze.blogspot.com before in my searches!
Looking forward to more posts from you.

Grizz………… said...

Anonymous…

The posts will be here…but no need to hide when you visit.