Date:         Thu, 3 Feb 2000 08:24:22 -0500
Reply-To:     Maryland Birds & Birding <MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
Sender:       Maryland Birds & Birding <MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
From:         Mike Callahan <raptorsrule@JUNO.COM>
Subject:      Re: Red-shouldered Hawks
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Hi Janet,

I am not sure, but I believe that when the hawks shake their tails they
may be righting the feathers that were ruffled in the pursuit.  When
hawks that have been banded are released they often shake their feathers
in flight or just after they land.  I wish a hawk would visit my home
feeding station!

Naturally,
Mike Callahan
Naturalist

On Wed, 2 Feb 2000 23:43:12 -0500 Janet Millenson <janet@TWOCROWS.COM>
writes:
> The Red-shouldered Hawk in my yard has been hanging around the
> feeder/pond
> area the last few days, but whether it's with sinister intent or
> just
> because it wants a drink is unclear. In general the other birds are
> not
> especially alarmed by its presence. It's certainly a pleasure to see
> this
> gorgeous creature so close to the house for a change.
>
> In the past, I've witnessed it successfully preying on a young
> rabbit (too
> heavy for it to lift), a chipmunk, a 2-foot-long snake, frogs at our
> tiny
> pond, and some kind of large grasshopper-type insect in an adjacent
> field of
> long grass.
>
> Speaking of hawks... I've noticed that a Cooper's, sharpie, or other
> hawk
> that has swooped on prey but failed to catch it, or that has been
> unwillingly evicted from its perch, will -- when it lands on a
> branch
> again -- waggle its tail in what looks like an expression of
> irritation. Or
> is the tail waggling merely a settling-in-place movement that they
> always
> do? Anyone else noticed this?
>
> First grackle of the season showed up at the feeder yesterday.
> Usually
> there's a huge flock of them (hundreds) by mid-February. (My parrot
> loves to
> talk about "grackle birds.")
>
> Janet Millenson
> Potomac, MD
> janet@twocrows.com
>
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