Harry the "sharped-shinned" hawk.
For some reason whenever I hear the name "sharp-shinned hawk" I am reminded of the old ZZ Top song "A Sharp Dressed Man". I have no inkling why but today when a sharp-shinned hawk alighted atop one of our bird feeders, that song started playing incessantly through my brain. Then I started to say 'sharp-shinned' as fast as I could over and over again. I gotta tell ya, the days are pretty intense up here in Vermont. Sometimes I have to take a nap just to be able to handle the excitement. Now about that hawk. No one really knows why they are called "sharp-shinned" although one theory holds that when these hawks wear pants, they like them with a
really sharp crease. Sharp-shinned hawks prey primarily on other birds which may be why our usual feathered visitors found today to be the perfect time to visit other feeders in our area. I had seen Harry the hawk earlier in the week down by the river but was particularly pleased when he showed up by the house and let me snap this photo. He didn't hang out around the deck for long (all of the other birds being gone and all), but we hope to see him regularly as the year progresses. As long as he doesn't take a liking to the chickens that is...
No comments:
Post a Comment