This strew of gray dove feathers under the azalea bush at the top of the steps leading to my backyard, not more than ten feet from my back door, serves as a reminder that those of us who live at the edge of the Wissahickon will occasionally be witness to nature in the raw. These are the meager leavings of a hawk -- probably a sharp shinned or a coopers -- who saw opportunity in the cluster of birds crowding the backyard feeders.(Check out Abe Lincoln's blog post describing a similar event. He goes into detail on how the impact of the attack disperses the feathers. A great photo.)
3 comments:
Jackson Pollock would be proud.
Yes, that would be a hawk attack and probably a Sharp-shinned as they seem to ram into their victims with a great deal of effort. There is a virtual explosion of feathers. I have seen Coopers Hawks do the same thing when a bird was perched on a power line and they both fell to the ground after that initial collision. I thought they were both going to be dead but the Coopers never hit the ground and was off with its Mourning Dove almost instantly. But the shower of fluffy feathers continued for a spell after the hawk flew off.
Thanks for the link.
Wow! Thanks for this information and the great story.
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