| (You can click on the images to enlarge them, and on the links to read the stories behind them, if you'd like) |
A Hummer, sticking out his tongue.
His eye is on the Sparrow(s).
And the Cardinals, too ...
Little Robin Redbreast ...
Blue Bird
Walking-on-Water Bird
Pascagoula Pals
Myrtle the Sea Gull
Turkey in Vicksburg National Military Park
The Famous Kentucky Fried Chicken Rooster
Hummers
As I was driving through a residential area of Vicksburg one day last week, I glimpsed something sitting on an electrical line that was suspended over a backyard. I did a double take, and had to stop and back up to be sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me.
Sure enough — sitting on the electrical wire was this big, beautiful bird:
Right after I snapped that picture (with my zoom lens), he flew down into the yard, and I managed to get one more shot of him:
About that time, I noticed movement in a tree in the back yard, and was delighted to see this little guy perched on a limb of the tree, almost completely camouflaged by the branches:
I was so excited, and wanted to get closer to him, but there was a chain link fence separating us, so I had to be content with the pictures I could capture with my zoom lens. I couldn't wait to get home to see the pictures on my computer so I could identify the birds. I could tell they were babies because they weren't very "skittish," especially the one in the tree.
After Googling "owls" and "hawks," I found that the best description fitting "my birds," was the one of a hawk called a Cooper's Hawk.
The habitats of Cooper's Hawks range from deep forests to leafy subdivisions and backyards, so that would fit the ones I saw — but I didn't care for the rest of the description, which read:
Among the bird world’s most skillful flyers, Cooper’s Hawks are common woodland hawks that tear through cluttered tree canopies in high speed pursuit of other birds. You’re most likely to see one prowling above a forest edge or field using just a few stiff wing beats followed by a glide. They are sometimes unwanted guests at bird feeders, looking for an easy meal (and that doesn't mean sunflower seeds, folks!).
I shudder at the thought of that sweet baby hawk stalking other birds, but "survival of the fittest" is one of Nature's most cruel laws — and, as the saying goes, "The bird hunting a locust is unaware of the hawk hunting him.”
So, as Miss Scarlett said, "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow."
