A Sharp-shinned Hawk and a horde of Wild Turkeys visit the garden this week
A Sharp-shinned Hawk (above), a tiny raptor only slightly bigger than a Blue Jay, hung out briefly in the garden this week. Split second glimpses of these super fast, fierce flyers are usually all we get, but in winter they perch in our trees hoping to nab a songbird, their favorite prey. The ever present Pine Siskins are on to them, and disappear as soon as one of them senses the threat.
Later in the week a very large flock of Wild Turkeys – about 30 females – spent an hour eating seed in the garden. After letting them be for a good long time, I quietly and slowly opened a door to try and get a picture.
The lead bird immediately sensed me as a predator and let out a loud alarm call, stretching its neck forward and moving toward the edge of the hill. Lots of clucking ensued, as if the flock were “discussing” whether it was really necessary to leave this nice buffet. The decision was yes, and they exploded in flight into protection of the trees. These very heavy birds are surprisingly strong short distance flyers.
Wild Turkeys are also a significant conservation success story. Absent from New Hampshire and nearly every other state by the 1970s, they were reintroduced and now number about 25,000.
Just down the road I ran across a very large flock of Bohemian Waxwings (above right) with a few Cedar Waxwings (above left) mixed in. Bohemian Waxwings – well named for their nomadic habits – are birds of the far north. In some winters they head south to the White Mountains in search of fruit, thrilling local birders. The large flock numbered about 80 birds which were feeding in ornamental Crabapple trees at the edge of the Story Land parking lot. It’s hard to imagine a swirling flock hundreds of feet off the ground spotting tiny fruits left on these trees. They have “an uncanny ability to find fruit nearly everywhere”, and can even spot and eat the fruit on an isolated desert shrub.
When the summer comes and the lot is filled with excited kids about to experience the magic of the amusement park, I’ll remember the magic of these beautiful birds in winter and smile.