The fields were strangely empty of geese today. Last year, I counted thousands
of Canada and Snow Geese in the area between Fair Hill and Blue Ball Road.
This year I had fewer than 500. American Crows and Starlings were abundant,
but the largest flock of blackbirds I saw was only around 50 birds. I 
don't know
if birds were, in general, laying low because of the coming snow, or 
if the warm
weather up till now has made many geese head north earlier than usual.

My feeder count is way down this year, too, in part because of the snow, but
mostly because a Sharp-shinned hawk has been hunting here most of
the afternoon. It has not succeeded so far, and must be getting quite hungry,
because I saw it roaming around in the garden, on the ground, and it even
peeked under the burlap that shelters an azalea, where the little birds often
take cover. We also lay our Christmas tree on the ground near the feeder,
mostly to act as a windbreak, but the juncos and sparrows use it for
cover, too, and the hawk knows it. He (it's quite small so I think it's a male)
swooped over the tree several times trying to flush the birds, but they
know they are in a good tight space there. The branches are very close together
so nothing bigger than a Cardinal can get in there.

It has been fascinating to watch this young hawk. It perches in the shrubs
right outside our front windows, so I've had excellent views of it without
binoculars. Using the binoculars, I can see how big its pupils are, 
the yellow iris
of its eyes, and the contrast between its dark talons and orange-yellow feet.
It is rather lightly streaked on the breast. It's quite gorgeous, but 
I wish it would
decide to look for another hunting ground. I would normally have seen the
Red-breasted Nuthatch today, as well as two Brown Creepers and
a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, and I would love to have had them on the 
feeder count.


--Pat

Pat Valdata, Elkton, MD | 
"The natural function of the wing is to soar upwards
and carry that which is heavy up to the place where dwells the race of gods.
More than any other thing that pertains to the body
it partakes of the nature of the divine." --Plato