Dan’s Almost Daily Journal-I Observed Two Unusual Bird Species in My Yard

Volume 53 — It’s Always Interesting to See Different Birds

Welcome back. It’s been almost a month since I posted an article in my daily journal. Maybe I should change the name to Dan’s Once in a While Journal. I’ve been busy as usual with this and that. I have been looking through the seeds catalogs, continuing to watch birds and participate in Project FeederWatch, and of course, enjoying the Winter weather as much as possible. After a nearly one-month period with no snow, we now have some back again, enough for cross-country skiing.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a story with photos of birds I have observed thus far this Winter. In that story, I hinted at two unusual bird species that I spotted in my yard.

One was spotted in the grapevine near the bird feeder, the other was down by the pond, about 100 feet from the house.

Sharp-Shinned Hawk

On December 1st, 2022, my wife and I spotted this bird perched in our grapevine in the morning, right outside our family room bow window and only about 4 feet from the platform bird feeder. At first, I thought this might be a Cooper’s Hawk, which is very similar, but closer inspection revealed it was an immature Sharp-shinned hawk. It has a smaller, more rounded head than the Cooper’s Hawk, whose head is larger and more blocky.

This bird stayed perched in the grapevine for 10 or 15 minutes before flying away. It was fun to watch and we were able to get some good photos.

A description of the Sharp-shinned hawk from All About Birds:

A tiny hawk that appears in a blur of motion — and often disappears in a flurry of feathers. That’s the Sharp-shinned Hawk, the smallest hawk in Canada and the United States, and a daring, acrobatic flier. These raptors have distinctive proportions: long legs, short wings, and very long tails, which they use for navigating their deep-woods homes at top speed in pursuit of songbirds and mice. They’re easiest to spot in fall on their southward migration, or occasionally at winter feeders.

These hawks are year-round residents in Central New York, although not always easy to photograph.

Merlin

This sighting was a first for me. I just happened to be looking out the window during the late afternoon on January 9, 2023. I spotted this bird down by the pond as it had a smaller bird pinned beneath its talons. To me, it looked like it had a European Starling captured. We have a rather large population of these starlings so this is not surprising.

At first, I thought this was another Sharp Shinned hawk or perhaps a Cooper’s Hawk. However, some of my fellow members of our local bird club identified it as a Merlin. They are not that common here except during breeding season. On this day, however, we were in the midst of our 3 to 4-week mild weather pattern in January.

From All About Birds:

Merlins are small, fierce falcons that use surprise attacks to bring down small songbirds and shorebirds. They are powerful fliers, but you can tell them from larger falcons by their rapid wingbeats and overall dark tones. Medieval falconers called them “lady hawks,” and noblewomen used them to hunt Sky Larks. Merlin populations have largely recovered from twentieth-century declines, thanks to a ban on the pesticide DDT and their ability to adapt to life around towns and cities.

It was exciting to observe these birds. It is fun to see some different bird species from time to time and to learn about them. Stay tuned for more journal entries.