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| Photo by Ms. Seitz |
The day after Christmas I opened the shades that look onto my backyard and saw two red-tailed hawks perched in a tree. I went outside in the cold (no shoes, no coat) to get a closer look and noticed that one of the hawks had what looked like a Blue Jay clenched in its talons. Of course, I ran inside and got my camera (but no shoes or coat!). The hawk without the prey kept calling and calling and then flew to a tree in a yard a couple of doors away, but the predator with his prey stayed put and I just took photo after photo. The hawk didn't seem to mind and occasionally even looked down at me. (Eventually, I went in and got some sneakers and a jacket because it was cooooold out there.) The hawk stuck around in the same place for about two hours, and since I eventually had to go inside and get on with my life, I never saw it leave the yard.
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| Photo by Ms. Seitz |
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| Photo by Ms. Seitz |
This was a great way to start the day! (By the way, on Christmas morning I saw a little Carolina wren in my yard. I love the way their short, stubby tails stick up like an exclamation point!
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| Photo NOT BY Ms. Seitz |
11 comments:
Hi, Ms. Seitz. My mouth dropped when I saw this post. TWO RED- TAILED HAWKS!! That's amazing! You have so many incredible visitors in your yard! First, a Carolina Wren, and then 2 hawks! I wish I had amazing birds in my yard, besides those regular sparrows that I see all the time. And, I can't believe one of the hawks had a Blue Jay in its talons!!!! That's marvelous.... Well, see you on Friday! (after the break).
how do you get the two red tailed hawks come to your yard?
Hasib: They just show up. I didn't do a thing. They're just flying around Brooklyn looking for food and I was lucky enough to have them hang out in a tree in my yard for a couple of hours.
Tasfiya: I went looking for the snowy owls but couldn't find them. I did see an American Kestrel though. It's a type of falcon. Very beautiful!
Ms. Seitz: Where did you see the American Kestrel? Before I wrote this comment, I just searched it up. You were right, these falcons are a beauty! Apparently, their scientific name is "Falco Sparverius" and their song sounds pretty. It goes like this: pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew! But, when they make this sound, it sounds kind of fast. :) I really love the colors on this bird. The wings are so pretty: one part of it is a faded looking blue- gray color, and the feathers on top were kind of faded red with black dots on the body. Then, the tail feather looked like a glistening brown color. On allaboutbirds.org, the first pic of it shows an American Kestrel with a mouse hanging from its talons!! Plus, I just finished the next issue of The Daily Tweeter about American Coots! In the very next issue of my newspaper, I'm going to feature the American Kestrel! Thanks for telling me about this bird, because now, that's another bird that will be added to my bird gallery on my tablet! :) Learning about new birds and observing them seems amazing! Now, I'm kind of stuck on which my favorite bird is. It's a tie between the Cedar Waxwing, and the American Kestrel! Well, I hope you enjoyed your break! :)
Happy (early) new year!!!!
Hi Ms.Seitz!Happy new year!Red-tailed hawks are always around Brooklyn.You always seem to see them.Lucky!Two at a time must have been a view!Especially with prey.Well,see you on Friday!Bye!
Just wanted to drop by and say, Happy New Year!
wnlinttWhat's your new year resolution ms seitz?
Thank you for the New Year's cheer Hasib, Sarah, Sanjida and Tasfiya. I don't like to make resolutions because I usually don't keep them and then I feel yucky about that. But I am going to try and eat healthy food and exercise more.
Tasfiya, I love how you always mention the scientific name of the birds you are learning about and I love how enthusiastic you get when you learn a new species. That's pretty much how I taught myself about birds. Every time I go out, I learn about another one.
Hi, Ms. Seitz. In class we're doing non- fiction reading, and I wanted to do it on birds, so Mrs. Friedman let me borrow this HUGE book about birds of all kinds! I'm sketching the birds and pasting them in my UNC journal. It's called "The Sibley Guide To Birds." It's from the Audubon Society. I also borrewed one of her bird magazines she had: "Living Bird Magazine." It's from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology! It has some cool facts in it. It said something about a guy from the Lab (I think his name is Tim Laman?) who was searching for the birds of paradise. When he needed birds to come, he had to take his ear wax, and rub it on the tree trunk. It actually worked! I tried researching how that whole ear wax concept made the birds come, since the magazine didn't say HOW, but I couldn't really find much stuff. Also, Mrs. Schuckman was telling us how she started having a passion for trees: she saw a picture of a sequoia tree in a magazine at her doctor's office. I thought about what inspired me to have a passion for birds, and I think it all really started at UNC when you showed us videos of birds in paradise, and the Feeder Watch Cams. I'm so glad you showed us the cams and all, because if not, I wouldn't be having the HUGE love I have for birds as I do now. Plus, did you see the American Kestrel in Prospect Park? If not, where?
P.S. I sent you another e-mail since you didn't receive my first e-mail. I hope you got the second one! :)
Tasfiya: Your enthusiasm is inspiring! I'm so glad you have found something that fuels your curiosity and creativity. I have the Cams on at home all the time. And I put bird seed in a pan in my yard and watched a male cardinal eating the seed up. I felt bad because I thought the birds might have trouble finding food in the snow. Again, remember, I would love to be a guest author in your newspaper. Let me know when my article can run, Ms.Editor. We'll go birding again. It is so nice sharing this with you. Check out my snow day photos. It was great fun sledding!
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