[dropcap]G[/dropcap]od provided rounds of tidbits in Mountain City this past week, big and small, with and without wings.
A hawk appeared on a bird feeding station by our front water feature on Tuesday, close enough that I captured him with my iPhone’s portrait feature that requires “within 8 feet.” I made like a pancake and flattened my back against the wall beside the breakfast window, and slowly held my hand with phone camera out for the photo.
Quite clear photos did not clearly provide identification of the Accipter because the Cooper’s Hawk and Sharp-shinned Hawk have very similar features. Dr. Byron Stone with Travis Audubon called the identification “raptor grad school”. With black-looking cap and broad white tip on the tail, it showed to be a Cooper’s. And, this was further confirmed since Sharpies leave Austin in mid-April.
