It has been an interesting week in the suburbs of Springfield!
Tuesday I was talking with my neighbor in her driveway directly across the street from my house when our resident Broad Winged Hawk started his noisy "this is my territory" screaming as he flew to one of his perches. About 30 seconds later another hawk flew across the top of my house away from him and then into the trees surrounding my neighbors house across the other street.
Ok to make this clear: My house is on a corner lot It's a T intersection/corner and the streets run N-S and E-W. This town is a perfect N,S,E,W grid pattern! My house is on the N-S street (NE corner) facing due west and my lady neighbor.
The 2nd hawk flew from north to south over my house and then over Mikes house into the trees behind him. Mike lives across the street from me to the south! Phyllis another neighbor is to my SW.
Anyway, Lucrisha (neighbor to the west) and I were facing my house or east and I see something heading towards up and as I look up a male Broad Winged Hawk lands on the top of the power pole next to the street corner (SW corner) and as we are looking up at him a distance of about 30' here comes another BW Hark and lands next to him and it's a female! The are cooing to each other and the Resident BW Hawk is screaming like crazy and these two look towards him and scream at him for about a minute then fly over Phyllis's house and land in a tree there then keep heading to the south and landing and looking around until out of sight!
That it was beyond "way cool" to us that they landed on that pole was just a fantastic Kodak moment with no freaking camera!
The rest of the week was hawks screaming and all the usual birds at the feeder!
Today I add another notch to the binoculars!
I changed the filters in the AC/Heater unit and as I hobbled out to the trash can (SW corner by the car port) I heard this loud Keening Kec Kec Kec that sounded almost familiar and as I turned towards where it came from and leaned to look around the corner of the house and roof a large bird flew over me and I mean almost directly over me at about 10' up! It landed in the tree in my front yard. I have no idea after 12 years living here what kind it is but that it grows like a bush but not higher than 15-20' high. It's also just west of the front yard bird feeder that is empty but one of the resident Cardinals was sitting in it at the moment and freaked when this big bird landed and as it turned towards me I see that it is a Peregrine Falcon! The slate grey/blue of the back and wing tops and the face with the beautiful side burns was all I needed for the ID!
It then started to chase the cardinal around the tree a few times and then the cardinal made a break for it and flew towards me with that falcon dead on it's tail and I'm thinking good bye Mr. Cardinal but ole Mr. Cardinal does a hard U Turn and flies right past that falcon through the tree and then NW into Lucrishas honeysuckle vines and to safety as that falcon was not going to get dinner out of that jungle of vines and he flew into the top of her fur tree and that was the last I saw of him!
That is until about an hour ago as I saw him out my back porch door (east) in my dying elm tree and I went to get Barbara and the binoculars but he was gone when I got back! I grabbed my sweater and cane and out the carport door I go and I stand there for almost 30 minutes just searching and here he comes!
A note to those who do not watch birds of prey. A Peregrine Falcon can almost be mistaken for a pigeon when they fly in wooded areas. They are about the size of a crow but at distance you watch for flying characteristics. I see what I think is a pigeon but I keep watching him until it lands in a tree to my west about 125 yards away and 60' high. I watch it through the binoculars 7x50 old WWII built and they reach out and touch as if you are looking at something a few feet away, and yes it's the falcon! I get maybe 1 minute of watching it when a small bird lands close by it, looks at it for about 5 seconds then starts to harass it as birds do especially when it's the beginning of "find a mate" month! He flies at that falcon and the falcon turns around to watch it and when the bird with a big brass pair flies at it again (how I have NO idea with all that weight weighing it down!) the falcon says "LUNCH TIME" and they fly off to the south and that's the last I saw of them!
If you see a falcon more than 2 times in a day at this close of a range it is setting up house in the area! The Peregrine had died or been killed off in this area from the use of DDT and someone from the state instituted a release program and turned a pair loose here I think about 10 years ago. I have over the years been watching and I believe we have maybe 5 breeding pairs in the area now.
But to get to see what I saw this week was great as my birds of prey watching which I got to do a lot of while driving over the years and across America and my regular birding of the smaller birds has fallen to whats local as I don't get to drive any more except the car around town.
I thank God and Mother Nature for the shows this week!he other street.
Ok to make this clear: My house is on a corner lot It's a T intersection/corner and the streets run N-S and E-W. This town is a perfect NSEW grid pattern! My house is on the N-S street (NE corner) facing due west and my lady neighbor.
The 2nd hawk flew from north to south over my house and then over Mikes house into the trees behind him. Mike lives across the street from me to the south! Phyllis another neighbor is to my SW.
Anyway, Lucrisha (neighbor to the west) and I were facing my house or east and I see something heading towards up and as I look up a male Broad Winged Hawk lands on the top of the power pole next to the street corner (SW corner) and as we are looking up at him a distance of about 30' here comes another BW Hark and lands next to him and it's a female! The are cooing to each other and the Resident BW Hawk is screaming like crazy and these two look towards him and scream at him for about a minute then fly over Phyllis's house and land in a tree there then keep heading to the south and landing and looking around until out of sight!
That it was beyond "way cool" to us that they landed on that pole was just a fantastic Kodak moment with no freaking camera!
The rest of the week was hawks screaming and all the usual birds at the feeder!
Today I add another notch to the binoculars!
I changed the filters in the AC/Heater unit and as I hobbled out to the trash can (SW corner by the car port) I heard this loud Keening Kec Kec Kec that sounded almost familiar and as I turned towards where it came from and leaned to look around the corner of the house and roof a large bird flew over me and I mean almost directly over me at about 10' up! It landed in the tree in my front yard. I have no idea after 12 years living here what kind it is but that it grows like a bush but not higher than 15-20' high. It's also just west of the front yard bird feeder that is empty but one of the resident Cardinals was sitting in it at the moment and freaked when this big bird landed and as it turned towards me I see that it is a Peregrine Falcon! The slate grey/blue of the back and wing tops and the face with the beautiful side burns was all I needed for the ID!
It then started to chase the cardinal around the tree a few times and then the cardinal made a break for it and flew towards me with that falcon dead on it's tail and I'm thinking good bye Mr. Cardinal but ole Mr. Cardinal does a hard U Turn and flies right past that falcon through the tree and then NW into Lucrishas honeysuckle vines and to safety as that falcon was not going to get dinner out of that jungle of vines and he flew into the top of her fur tree and that was the last I saw of him!
That is until about an hour ago as I saw him out my back porch door (east) in my dying elm tree and I went to get Barbara and the binoculars but he was gone when I got back! I grabbed my sweater and cane and out the carport door I go and I stand there for almost 30 minutes just searching and here he comes!
A note to those who do not watch birds of prey. A Peregrine Falcon can almost be mistaken for a pigeon when they fly in wooded areas. They are about the size of a crow but at distance you watch for flying characteristics. I see what I think is a pigeon but I keep watching him until it lands in a tree to my west about 125 yards away and 60' high. I watch it through the binoculars an old 7x50 WWII built for the Navy and these things reach out and touch as if you are looking at something a few feet away, and yes it's the falcon! I get maybe 1 minute of watching it when a small bird lands close by it, looks at it for about 5 seconds then starts to harass it as birds do especially when it's the beginning of "find a mate" month! He flies at that falcon and the falcon turns around to watch it and when the bird with a big brass pair flies at it again (how I have NO idea with all that weight weighing it down!) the falcon says "LUNCH TIME" and they fly off to the south and that's the last I saw of them!
If you see a falcon more than 2 times in a day at this close of a range it is setting up house in the area! The Peregrine had died or been killed off in this area from the use of DDT and someone from the state instituted a release program and turned a pair loose here I think about 10 years ago. I have over the years been watching and I believe we have maybe 5 breeding pairs in the area now.
But to get to see what I saw this week was great as my birds of prey watching which I got to do a lot of while driving over the years and across America and my regular birding of the smaller birds has fallen to whats local as I don't get to drive any more except the car around town.
I thank God and Mother Nature for the shows this week!
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