Rondeau Ric

 Sharp-shinned hawk with a tree sparrow meal.  Couldn't have grabbed one of those pesky house sparrows. Taken through the wonderful wildlife window. Our yard, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, February 20, 2025. Accipiter striatus The size difference between the sexes in Sharp-shinned Hawks influences the size of prey they can catch. Nestlings feed first on small prey caught mainly by their father, switching as they grow to the larger prey that their mother can bring. Before delivering prey to their mates or young, male Sharp-shinned Hawks typically remove and eat the head.

I think I know why we have no birds in the yard today. Sharp-shinned hawk sitting in the bush behind our water feature. Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, December 4, 2024 Accipiter striatus Female Sharp-shinned Hawks are about a third bigger and heavier than males. This is a typical pattern for many hawks and owls, but otherwise rare in the bird world.

Yesterday a male sharppie hit the living room window but managed to fly away. A few minutes later we found it sitting on a log at the side ofthe house. We watched it, from a distance for about 5 minutes. It hopped off the log and went to the side of the house and it walked to the back corner near my photo blind. It hunkered down there for several hours. We watched through the windows hoping it would fly away. After talking with the local bird rehabilitator we captured the hawk just before dark and kept it in a ventilated box overnight with the hope of releasing it in the morning. Unfortunately it didn't survive until morning. Accipiter striatus