Hawks in the city

     For most people who live in the city of Hartford, birdlife in winter often comes in the form of a flock of house sparrows or pigeon.  Like their counterparts in the suburbs, bird lovers in the city will readily embrace their feathered friends by providing both food and water. This has allowed a stable population of birds to remain throughout the winter months.

     These flocks can sometimes garner a great deal of attention due to their substantial numbers and lively feeding. This type of feverish activity has inevitably caught the eyes of many hungry hawks. Species such as Cooper’s, Sharp-shinned and Red-tailed Hawks have all found success hunting around neighborhood feeders and apartment buildings.

     Just the other morning, as I was shoveling out from another snowstorm, I was startled by the sound of a loud thud against my window. I turned around and caught a quick glimpse of an adult Cooper’s Hawk flying off with a pigeon in its talons. This pigeon had just been chased from a nearby apartment complex. For some, a moment like this doesn’t come around too often. But in Hartford, it’s a weekly occurrence.

Immature Cooper's Hawk

     Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned Hawks are forest raptors that feed mainly on small birds. They are characterized by their short-rounded wings, long tails and long legs. Both species are superbly adapted for speed and agility, which is used to chase fast moving prey in tight situations.

     The Red-tailed Hawk is our most common hawk species. They have large, broad wings and short, rounded tails. Red-tailed Hawks are generally slower than the Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned Hawk and are thus less likely to capture a fast flying pigeon, but it does occur from time to time (case in point; at the time of this writing, there was a Red-tailed Hawk sighted on top of the Connecticut Children’s Hospital tearing apart a pigeon).

      Hawks utilize a number of different hunting methods in the city. A large tree is typically used to keep watch of neighborhood feeding stations and known bird roosts. Once a target is located, a tall building or another object is used to conceal its ambush. At the moment of ambush, a hawk will fan out its wings as a way to confuse their prey. This will cause a pigeon or sparrow to fly toward a more susceptible area.   

     In all, a hawk’s survival depends solely on the daily pursuit and capture of prey. Whether it’s on a bustling city street or in the backyard of a three family home, hawks have found an easy and dependable meal right in the heart of downtown Hartford.



Pigeon found hiding under a car












How do birds survive the winter?

  Being outside in the winter can be a real challenge for birdwatchers. Sub-freezing temperatures and a blanket of snow can make birding quite miserable. Fortunately for us, we have a choice. We can remain indoors during the harsh conditions, or brave the elements. But if you’re a bird, life isn’t so easy.

     On a bright and cold January morning, I had the pleasure of watching a beautiful flock of American Tree Sparrows feed delicately along the tops of some roadside weeds. I began to wonder, how can a half ounce bird endure a nine degree night and live to tell about it? Incredibly, no matter how cold the days in winter may get, birds have evolved a number of physical and behavioral adaptations to survive.

     The first rule of winter survival is finding food. Birds need to consume as much food as possible during the coldest of weather. This will help generate enough energy to sustain them throughout the night. If a bird does not find enough food to produce the necessary energy, it will perish. The most important food sources in winter include seeds, grains, various berries and fruits.

     Finding adequate shelter is also vital to a birds well being. For example, the dense shrubs and thick evergreens in my Canton yard provide an excellent barrier against the cold for both Mourning Doves and Dark-eyed Juncos. Species such as Black-capped Chickadees and White-breasted Nuthatches use tree cavities at night to escape the howling winter winds.

     Birds utilize a host of other techniques when dealing with frigid temperatures. One such technique involves the covering of extremities. To decrease heat loss, birds will tuck in their head, neck and legs as they sleep.   

     Feathers play an obvious role against the cold. Many species will double their amount of feathers during the winter as a way to help reduce the loss of heat. Birds will also fluff out their plumage as way of trapping warm air between their skin and feathers, creating an additional insulating layer.

     Finally, as a bird’s body temperature begins to fall, they will actually shiver as a means to produce additional body heat. This strategy can burn lots of fat reserves, but may prove life saving.

     All together, these heat-conserving methods allow birds to survive some of the most severe Connecticut winters. With that in mind, I hope their story of survival will inspire you to add a few new shrubs to your yard this upcoming spring.

Winter Birding Essentials: Reading The Landscape

     It’s a cold winter’s day in January and I’ve decided to take an early morning bird walk in the Wethersfield Meadows. I have about an hour to spare, so I need to move swiftly. I step out of my car and scan the farm fields for birdlife. No luck. I immediately think to myself, this isn’t going to be easy. With a seemingly barren landscape before me, I will have to evaluate my options and read the landscape carefully. 

     When birdwatchers spend time in the field, they not only become familiar with a birds field marks and song, they begin to understand the different habitats they live in. Ornithologists use the term microhabitat to describe these subtle subdivisions within a landscape. Once learned, these habitats are easier to notice and in turn allow a birder to become more efficient at finding certain species.

     This was the case in Wethersfield as I was looking for overwintering sparrows. Sparrows are seed-eating birds that prefer the edges of open fields with areas of thick brush nearby for cover. As soon as I located this particular type of habitat, I was able to find plenty of American Tree, Song, Savannah and Swamp Sparrows.

     Another bird I had my sights set on this morning was Horned Lark. Horned Larks are barren-ground specialists which favor extensively open land with scant weedy vegetation. Experienced birders know quite well that farm fields are a perfect place to find foraging winter flocks. A few minutes of careful searching revealed a secretive flock among the plows furrows.

     A winter’s landscape can sometimes make it much easier to find birds. The meadows bordering woodlands provide clear views of perch-hunting hawks due to the lack of foliage. Red-tailed Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks and a Merlin were all enjoyed during my visit. The woods exposed branches also allowed unobstructed looks at woodpeckers, nuthatches and Golden-crowned Kinglets.

     In addition to the land, rivers and ponds should be checked during the winter. With daily temperatures averaging below 30 degrees, parts of the Connecticut River had become completely frozen over. Savvy birders who routinely seek out unfrozen areas are often rewarded with sightings of waterfowl, gulls and Bald Eagles. The openings in the river today offered distant looks at Common and Hooded Mergansers, American Black Ducks and Canada Geese.

     Acquiring the ability to read landscapes is an integral part of a successful days birding. This knowledge will enable you to enjoy birding year round, especially when old man winter is in town.

Murder In The City

      The American Crow is one of the most recognizable bird species in all of North America. As the days become shorter in fall, crows do something both strange and quite fascinating. Just before sunset, long lines of crows can be observed overhead, some numbering in the thousands, traveling together en route to a large communal roost along Interstate 84 in Hartford.

     Why do crows roost together in Hartford? Why do these flocks occur only in the winter? Some of the most popular theories include warmer temperatures (cities on average are 5-15 degrees warmer than surrounding urban areas), proximity to prime feeding locations, safety from predators such as owls and socialization.   

     Before going to roost in Hartford, crows typically collect in an enormous noisy flock along the Park River. Some of the largest and oldest trees in Hartford are found near the river and are very attractive to roost-searching crows. From there, they settle down close to the Interstate, and like magic, become silent for the night.

     Most of these crows spend the better part of the day on the outskirts of town foraging in farmland and neighborhoods before returning for the evening.

     American Crows belong to a family of birds called Corvidae which include other familiar species like Blue Jays, Fish Crows and Common Ravens. Crows and other corvids are highly intelligent and crafty birds. They are opportunistic, and most thrive living among humans. Remarkably, all four of these species now occur in Hartford!

     If you would like to experience the crow roost first hand, I would suggest a visit to the Walmart parking lot off of Flatbush Avenue around 3:30pm. This will allow an up close and personal look at this amazing spectacle.

     The annual Hartford Christmas Bird Count was conducted on December 18^th, 2010, an estimated 20,000 crows were counted that day coming to roost.

      Most people refer to a large assemblage of crows as a flock. Another term less likely to be used is murder, A Murder of Crows.  Murder is an old expression which may allude to the crow’s traditional association with gatherings around sick and dying animals.