BANG!

There was a bit of wildlife excitement in the backyard today, and it started with a bang. Literally. I heard a loud BANG, which sounded like something big had hit the house really hard. Naturally I leaped up to go find out what had happened, and when I looked out the window, I saw this:

Backyard Bird of the Day!

Now, this was not my first glimpse, this was when I got nice and close to the window after I ran for my camera (and then found out the battery was dead, and ran to get the back-up). My first glimpse only told me that there was a large bird on the ground, and I thought for a second that it had hit the window, but it wasn't in the right place for having hit the window, and it hadn't sounded like a window hit (sadly, I know what those sound like), and I probably would have seen it at least in peripheral vision if it had hit the window. But when I got a good look, I realized that it was a raptor holding its prey in its talons.

(Just a warning that if you are a REALLY squeamish person, some of what is coming might turn your stomach. But mostly it's only mildly gory).

Here's the above shot zoomed in:

So, it caught a mourning dove. I am somewhat soft-hearted about predation, even though I know it is just the way of things in nature, and therefore I am ashamed of myself for being glad that the prey was a mourning dove, because they are my least favorite bird. I obviously don't know for sure, but I think the raptor must have crashed into the house in the process of hitting the dove. Either that or falcons catching doves is REALLY LOUD. At least I think it's a falcon. I should go get a bird book...

[Walking into the next room where the field guides are kept...]

Hmmm... Okay, maybe it is a hawk, not a falcon. It doesn't look exactly like any of the pictures in the book, but it looks more like the hawks - Accipiters, aka bird hawks (because they eat birds). It sort of looks like the Sharp-Shinned Hawk or the Coopers Hawk. All I can tell you is that it is not a red tailed hawk. Obviously. And it is beautiful. [Edit: further investigation has only confused me more. According to a brief internet search - which you know I don't trust - this bird is way too big to be either a Sharp Shinned Hawk or a Coopers Hawk.]

 Note, by the way, that it is in the sun at this point. So, after it caught the bird, it just stood there on top of it for a few minutes. Then it started pulling its feathers out. You can see that there are a few on the snow already.

 As it was working on the de-feathering process, it spent a lot of time looking around. It would pull out some feathers, pause to look around, pull out more feathers, pause to look around... you get the idea.

 Pull out feathers...

 Look around...

 Pull out feathers...

 Look around...

At this point my husband came home and was able to find the camera attachment that allows me to use my telephoto lens, which was removed a while ago (long story). So, I got some closer pictures. 

 They are not great pictures, because by this time the hawk was in the shade - it had not moved, but the sun had. It was out there for over 45 minutes for this lunching process. Also, I was taking the pictures through a dirty window and the window screen. Not that I should be making excuses, but that's why you're not getting a clear view here. Speaking of a clear view, I have no idea if it can see me here - it seems to be looking straight at me, but I don't know if it was able to see in the window. Note the forward facing eyes of a predator. You need that binocular vision to have the depth perception to catch things.

I can't take you seriously with feathers stuck to your face.

 Here's a look at its tongue...

 At this point I cautiously moved outside. I wasn't as close as I was when looking out the window, but obviously got clearer shots without the window and screen.

 I was worried I would scare it away from the kill, but as you can see, it was aware I was there, and just kept on with what it was doing. Such a gorgeous bird.

Eventually I tried to move a little closer, and it flew off, taking the rest of the mourning dove with it, leaving behind a mess of feathers and a grease spot on the snow. No blood, interestingly. I hope the neighbors across the street were looking out their window when it zoomed by. I would also like to mention that this was taking place about 20 feet away from the bird feeder, but while the hawk was there, there were no birds at the feeder. I am sure they were sheltered nearby, and maybe they would have been safe, considering it already had something to eat, but better safe than dinner.

If you want to see some video of the event, click Here. It's not a close shot, so probably not gory, but if you are really squeamish, and are grossed out just knowing what's going on there, maybe you shouldn't watch it.