Seasons change

Yesterday morning, we woke up to the cheerful sound of raccoons fighting outside the bedroom window. They sounded like a pack of wolverines. Are coons and wolverines related? I'll have to look it up sometime.

Other than bickering mammals, it's been quiet around the yard lately; where are the songbirds? Nothing but crows, crows, crows. And an occasional flock of starlings. Plus a few dainty chickadees at the feeder.

Sharp-shinned Hawks are a sign of fall here, and we always watch for them when they migrate through Seattle. Sure enough, we saw a big female hunting near the neighbor's laurel hedge last week. The female sharp-shinned hawk is twice the size of the male, and large enough to capture robins. They hunt by silent surprise and they're good at slipping through dense thickets. They will eat other little creatures, but the diet of choice is small birds. Songbirds avoid the feeder and lay low when the hawks are around.

Last October, Amanda and I were sitting at the kitchen table when we saw one dive into our thick bamboo and grab a sparrow out as slick as can be. Then we watched him meticulously pluck the feathers before he ate his dinner. It was beautiful and grisly. This is the last sight for many little birds:
Too bad they don't eat fat raccoons!