Meet the small, but lethal, sharp-shinned hawk

I was watching my bird feeders last week when suddenly a small hawk landed on a branch above the feeders and set quietly blending into the branches of the ponderosa pine. It was a sharp-shinned hawk (accipiter striatus) — they are about the size of a blue jay, but considerably more lethal. He is an excellent hunter and birds make up most of his diet.

Typically after a kill, the sharpie generally takes its prey to a favorite eating site within its hunting territory. There, it systematically plucks the feathers from its victim before consuming it. A pile of feathers at the base of a tree or post often marks these feeding locations.

The bird I was watching reminded me of a lightweight wrestler. It appeared top-heavy, with a broad, rust-streaked breast tapering into a slimmer base. Its blue-black head seemed to be attached to the blue-gray body without the benefit of a neck. I thought it was a female. But without a mate nearby, I couldn’t be certain.

As with most raptors, the females are larger than the males, and sharpies are the extreme example of this phenomenon. Males average 10 inches from beak to the tip of their tails and weigh 3.5 ounces. Females are 20 percent longer and weigh 6 ounces. Theories abound about these variations. Most ornithologists suggest that bigger females can lay bigger eggs, provide more complete incubation coverage on the nest and have the extra reserves to sustain them during the brooding of their chicks.

Young sharp-shinned hawks fledge at one month, although the parents supplement their diets for another four weeks. Adults train the young to hunt by taking a piece of a dead bird into the air. As the young hawk approaches, the parent tosses the food toward the youngster. In this way, the birds learn to capture prey while flying. In addition to their usual diet of small birds, sharp-shinned hawks occasionally eat rodents, frogs and insects.

This hawk appears to be simply staying near backyard bird feeders. There’s no need to travel far when dinner is so convenient.

Sharpies look a lot like Cooper’s hawks. Both species have blue-gray backs and wings, with reddish streaked underparts. Both have short, rounded wings that help them navigate in the woodlands they frequent. Adults of both species have red eyes. Cooper’s hawks are significantly larger than sharpies, but judging size in the field is tricky. Sharpies’ tails are squared off at the end, while Cooper’s tails are slightly rounded.

The sharp-shinned hawk I was watching had shifted its focus to a small flock of juncos. The juncos seemed oblivious to their precarious situation. Suddenly the birds felt a dangerous presence and they took flight. The sharp-shinned hawk left as quickly as he came in search of other hunting grounds.

Enjoy beautiful Boundary County and its wildlife!