I think he needs to hone his skills...just a tad

This is...what we believe to be...a Sharp-Shinned Hawk. We believe that's what it is because of our well-worn copy of

Common Birds of North America

that we keep on the table right beside the window.



You'll hafta excuse the quality of the photos. I suck as a photographer. Besides that, I'm takin the shots through double-paned, dirty windows. Hey...it's been too damn cold to wash the winders on the outside, ok?

Aaaanyway, James D. Wilson, the author of the above-mentioned book, says that the Sharp-Shinned Hawk is reclusive. Well...this one? Not so much. He's sittin on the fence just beside our deck...right out in the open. And he sat there for probably...I dunno...15 minutes, maybe.



Mr. Wilson also states that they like to hang out in "...neighborhoods where bird feeders concentrate small birds..." Ok, that's a check. The fence is like...3 feet from the deck...where we have a couple of hanging bird feeders. Stealth isn't his strong suit either, evidently.



We normally have anywhere from 2 or 3 up to maybe 25 or 30 birds of various descriptions hangin out on the deck, suckin up the free buffet...hence, the handy-dandy little book. 'Course, while this guy was in the area, there wasn't hide nor hair...nor feather...of another bird in the vicinity. I think they musta read the part where it says "Captured prey is taken to a favorite perch, called a "butcher block", where the predator, while furtively glancing about for thieves, quickly de-feathers and consumes it."

Um. "Butcher block"? This little guy...a butcher? He's definitely got a lot to learn.

We also have a ton of Bald Eagles that hang in the area. My puny little Pentax just isn't powerful enough to get a really great shot of one of those babies...even though I keep tryin. I wish we could lure one up on the deck and have him pose for us...like this little guy did.

I suppose hangin a couple dead rabbits from the bird feeders might be a little...gruesome?

Yea. Probably.