Feeding the Bird

[Uberhoust]

We have a new bird that has been coming to our feeders. He drops in about once a week and scares off all the other birds. I haven't seen it catch anything yet but have found the feathered remains of a Eurasian Ring Neck Dove in the yard which I assumed it ate.

I believe it is a Coopers Hawk but it might also be a Sharp Shinned hawk as well, size and behavior is on the fence for either. The photo is from the shepherds hook that support the feeder.

 

[SomethingsFishy24]

Well, that is less than ideal. Do you think if you removed the feeders for a bit, it would move on and not think of your place as a buffet?

 

[Uberhoust]

Well, that is less than ideal

From my perspective it is quite ideal. We have large number of birds at the feeders, we go through about 20 kg of seed a month, the little birds still come, but occasionally we get to see a bird of prey. The hawk seems to have made a home in the neighborhood he visits our area for a bit, then moves on to the neighbors yard. He has been coming for over three months now and I still haven't seen him catch a bird, squirrel, or rabbit, though I have seen the occasional pile of feathers.

 

[SomethingsFishy24]

Jeez, that is a lot of seed, even with the chipmunks stealing a bit we don't go through that much. I guess if it works for you, then carry on.

We don't have many hawks, the ones we do have seem to prefer the rat snakes. We have bald eagles and osprey but they don't bother our birds.

We have a lot of birds who visit, everything from gold finches to Pileated wood peckers. I keep the feeders close to the house and inside the fence as the neighbors have outdoor cats. It is funny, they know they are safe even when my dobermans are out, the birds just carry on as the dogs ignore them.

 

[Uberhoust]

I have been running the feeders since a heart attack a few years ago, the feeders are easily visible from our kitchen table. We have resident populations of Pileated, Downey, and Hairy wood peckers that feed on the suet. The Gold Finches just came back a week ago. I keep track of the other birds as well. We have a large number of Bald Eagles but they never come to the yard, but they sure like the regional dump. I wish we had rat snakes here but all we have reptile wise is Northern Alligator lizards and Garter Snakes, and now introduced fence lizards. We live adjacent to vacant 8 acre parcel, which then adjoins a Provincial Park so we seem to get lots of birds.

The mass of seed is a bit of an approximation, we fill two large commercially made feeders and a suet block daily, and go through somewhat more than one big bag (16kg) of oilseed each month.