New Visitor to Front Garden Birdbath

[deerman]

They can hunt anytime, but they don't have young. So if they have made a kill first part of day, no reason to make a kill in the afternoon. Hawks don't kill for fun,reason you will see one setting in a tree with birds around.

My guess better odds for the chicken in the afternoon.

 

[BloominOrchid]

Just caught the same type bird killing 2 of my chicks

 

[drumstick diva]

Nope not a peregrine we have them here, not a kestrel either - too big. I think it already had lunch , too heavy to fly off. He was just washing it down . Has kind of a scowl on his face, maybe he really wanted a V-8.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

I think it's probably a Cooper's, they are the most common in Tucson. We have them here year-round and one visits my yard nearly daily. It's been suggested on this board that the one perched on my coop in the pic below is young. It is a pretty formidable hunter, having decimated the large lizards in the yard, but has not yet gone after my hens. I still don't trust it around my chickens.

 

[Toast n Jelly]

Quote:

 

[desertdarlene]

Quote:
That one's a juvenile, too, note the yellow eyes. Adults have red eyes. They're very smart. If you read the post on Molly's blog, you will read a story about a hawk that followed a full-grown mother owl to her nest (probably to steal her food, I suspect, not hurt the owlets).

I don't mind them until they start killing my favorite birds that I am attached to. They keep the crows from eating all the finch eggs and babies all over my neighborhood.

I think one might have eaten the last duckling at our lake. He definitely ate two of his siblings, but I didn't get as attached to them. Hoping that last duckling is still alive and living in a different part of the lake. He was 10 days old when he went missing, but they generally change feeding locations at that age. So, I'm hoping.

 

[b.hromada]

She sure is beautiful.

Yes, do keep a close eye on your girls!!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

FYI, sharpshinned and coopers are very similar in appearance, with the most significant difference being size. However, a male coopers and a female sharpshinned are about the same size. whatbird.com has a number of photos of each of these species. It is the single best online wild bird resource I have found. FWIW, I have seen both sharp-shinned, coopers, and kestrals in my yard in Tempe. Fortunately, none in the last few months