A Sharp Shinned Hawk

Saturday proved to have a dramtic ending to the start of a wonderful day. It was almost as if the birds could read a calendar...May 1st brought bird after bird to my yard. It was a clear start to migration.

Later in the afternoon I happened to walk into my kitchen and I noticed that there was not a single bird in my yard. Even the grackles had disappeared. This usually can only mean one thing. Bird of prey in the area.

Imagine my surprise when I looked outside and saw this sharp shinned hawk sitting on my fence post plucking all of the feathers off of his dinner. I immediatly grabbed my camera and started shooting before it even really registered what he was doing.

I kept saying over and over, "oh my god, oh my god" while I watched...I even threw up in my mouth a little bit (but still kept taking pictures).

The ironic part of the circle of life is pictured above. It took very little time before all of the feathers from their fallen comrade were gathered up to soften their nests. As a fellow birder of mine commented. "waste not want not".