Wild Nevada (Part 2)

Birds have always been an interest of mine. Growing up in Northern Michigan with a house flanked on each side with bird feeders one but couldn’t help but to pick up a thing or two about our feathered friends. By age twelve I could tell you which birds liked thistle seed (Goldfinches), which liked sunflower seeds (House Sparrows and Cardinals), and which birds liked millet (practically no bird likes millet but they are forced to eat it since it’s the common birdseed found in every hardware store, supermarket, and pet store).

Anyways, after a weekend camping trip with the Wolshon’s in Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park, we found an Amazon gift box in the mail. I opened it up and let Zoe claw into the wrapping paper. It was a copy of Sibley’s Guide to Western Birds (Thanks Mark & Kelly!). During the trip Mark and Kelly had been able to identify a Western Tanager, and sensing my interest in birds, they hooked us up with a great field guide.

So tonight I’m thumbing through the book to read about a Yellow Headed Blackbird that I had seen a few days ago when Ting asked me if I knew what the large gray bird was currently hoping off the edge of our deck. We peered out the window waiting for the bird to strut further out into our back yard so we could see his complete plumage. Zoe wandered up to the window and began to tap on the glass to see if the bird would move away from the base of the deck.

No sooner had Zoe tapped then a hawk swooped into our back yard and pounced on our bird. Ting shrieked as the hawk spun around with his wings outstretched and dug his talons into our poor bird. We watched as the hawk shrouded his prey and we could see the poor bird open his bill for a help cry yet no noise came out.

Within less then a minute, the hawk circled our back yard and took off for a large Cottonwood across Evans Creek where he proceeded to devour his new kill. Ting was visibly shaken and I don’t believe Zoe knew what to make of this show of nature.

As for me I ran over to the Sibley guide and immediately flipped to the birds of prey section. Hmmm…. A toss up between a Coopers Hawk and a Sharp Shinned Hawk! Living in wild Nevada sure is interesting!