Cooper's Hawk hunting around my apartment complex.
Did you participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count?
Here are my results:
Locality: 53717, Madison, Dane County, WI
Observation Date: FEB 13, 2010
Start Time: 7:00 AM
Total Birding Time: 2 hours
Party Size: 1
Skill: excellent
Weather: excellent
Snow Depth: 6 - 8 in (15.2 - 20.3 cm)
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
Mourning Dove - 5
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Blue Jay - 2
American Crow - 2
Black-capped Chickadee - 1
White-breasted Nuthatch - 1
European Starling - 2
American Tree Sparrow - 1
Dark-eyed Junco - 12
Northern Cardinal - 2
House Finch - 3
American Goldfinch - 2
House Sparrow - 4
Not bad for an apartment complex in an urbanized area, eh? The Cooper's Hawk was a nice surprise for my count, but the songbirds didn't appreciate the adept predator hunting through the bushes along the apartments. Typically I have more chickadees around, but saw only one during my count on Saturday. Perhaps this is a sign of chickadee intelligence (behavior) with regard to presence of a bird of prey?
Here is 2010's GBBC participation map:
Here is 2008's Presidential Election Results map:
:: cackle, laugh, chuckle, chortle, giggle, snicker ::
© 2010 Mike McDowell
