Your Questions Answered
This is where we try to answer questions from residents of OHCC about birds they have seen, bird feeding, nesting, gardening for birds, etc
Dear OHBW:
How do you tell the difference between a Sharp-shinned Hawk and a Northern Harrier? I always thought I was seeing a Sharp-shipped hawk, but after the picture in the newsletter and the write up, maybe not. My back yard overlooks the Calavera Nature Preserve and I see many varieties of hawks. More are showing up now with spring time coming. The small sized hawk likes to hunt for small birds coming to my rock water fountain. (from Bonnie Trifilo)
The Northern Harrier is a slender hawk with a distinctive white patch on its rump and a small owl-like, rather flat face. It has light underparts and long, narrow wings with black wing-tips. It has yellow eyes.
The Sharp-shinned Hawk is our smallest hawk. It flies very fast and has short wings, long legs, and a very long tail. Adults are slate-blue-gray above, with narrow, horizontal red-orange bars on the breast. Immature birds are mostly brown, with coarse vertical streaks on white underparts. Adults and young have broad dark bands across their long tails.
Dear OHBW:
This year I planted zinnias in one of my flowerbeds. The blooms are very pretty. Unfortunately every day a group of 6-8 goldfinches fly down and eat the leaves. Why are they doing this?
Birds need roughage just like humans. Goldfinches seem to enjoy the rough texture of zinnia leaves, which they shred with their sharp beaks. They also seem to take pleasure in swinging on the stems. If you want to preserve your plants, you'll have to surround them with a wire cage. However, you might just decide to let nature take its course and enjoy watching the antics of the goldfinches.
Dear OHBW:
This nest complete with eggs is in my garden. What kind of bird laid them? (Bill Saltzman)
These pale blue eggs belong to a housefinch. How exciting!
March 2017
Northern Harrier (Ann Baldwin)
Sharp-Shinned Hawk