Sunday, February 12, 2012

Sharp-shinned hawk attack

Wednesday as I was eating dinner, I watched a Sharp-shinned hawk attack a starling.  Life in the world of nature is both cruel and interesting.  This was both of them. 
I watched as the hawk tore off the legs of the live starling.  By the time I ran down stairs to get my camera and got out behind a shed, the hawk was tearing off the head as the starling still struggled minus its already eaten legs.


As I slowly approached, the hawk flew up on a log to finish its dinner.


All that was left of the starling were legs, feathers and the head.


The next day it was back again.  Only this time I found him in a tree with another starling.  He can stay in my yard as long as he leaves the goldfinch, chickadees and evening grosbeaks alone.


Another great time in the wilds of Idaho.

9 comments:

eileeninmd said...

What a series and sighting. I am glad he got the starlings too. Wonderful photos.

Lois Evensen said...

Wow, what a series of action shots! You are right about nature being cruel, but they all have to live and eat in Mother Nature's food chain.

Veronica Wald said...

Hard to watch, isn't it? I've seen a pigeon keep flapping as a peregrine similarly disassembled it; I like to think it was already unconscious from shock, and the continuing movement was reflexive. Plenty of people, though not I, have watched grizzlies to same to screaming elk calves. It's beyond imagination what they prey is suffering, fortunately it's usually over quickly. Your photos are superb.

Mary Howell Cromer said...

Always a tough call Bill...yet it is nature. I too am not so bothered with them catching the Starlings...did you view my recent Starling post...we have hundreds of thousands of them roosting and even NBC did a news coverage on them. Maybe you could pack up that hawk and he could take a few of ours. Have a great week.

Mary Howell Cromer said...

Hmmm...I got to wondering...you would think that the Starling should have died immediately...I sure wish that it had of

Gaelyn said...

Wow, it's such a cool thing to see, and gross at the same time.

Sallie (FullTime-Life.com said...

"Nature red in tooth and claw" (gotta look up which poet said that, certainly well illustrated by this post!). Yeah, I'm not very sentimental about starlings either, but the other birds, oh my gosh I'd have a hard time letting nature take its course if a goldfinch or anything else were about to become dinner!.

KaHolly said...

It took me a long time to accept that hawks would dine on my feeder birds upon occasion. Maybe he'll deplete the house sparrow population one at a time, too! That last shot is superb! ~karen

Barb said...

Nature teaches hard lessons! Your camera skills are exceptional.