Every fall our farm is a stopover for migrating birds, which includes different species of hawks. Surrounded by shedding trees, there are countless perches and plenty of places to blend in for these sharp-eyed predators to patiently wait for prey – field mice, rabbits, small song birds, and of course, our chickens.
The assault starts with the arrival of Sharp Shinned hawks that go after the opportunistic house sparrows that nest in the “hay barn”, and help themselves to the chicken’s feed in and around the coop. It is not uncommon to see 10-20 sparrows perched on the coop, a few at a time darting down to the ground for some scratch or crumbles. Caught up in their daily routine of theft and rest, they lose their awareness of what is waiting along the perimeter of their chosen space.
Sharp Shinneds are so very fast! It only takes a few seconds for one to launch from its hidden perch, accelerate, and fly a few hundred feet, coming in with the force of its own speed, grab an unwary sparrow, and be gone. Sharp Shinneds are unbelievably efficient. It uses no unnecessary movement, no wasted energy. What must be thousands of subtle movements appear as only one swift action, happening in a blink of an eye!
Luckily for our chickens, the Sharp Shinned is a bit too small to be much of a threat. I am sure though, that if hungry enough, a sharp shin might try going after one. Usually though, the chickens lose their fear of them. Sometimes a chicken will come out of hiding and defend their coop if the hawk comes bulleting in.
Even so, when we begin seeing the Sharp Shinned hawks, we stop letting the girls free range and keep them in their coop. Experience has taught us that the Sharp Shinned is just one of our farm’s visitors during the hawk migration, and that we need to be wary of any shadows and silhouettes that appear across the farm’s landscape. Soon, we will be under the watchful eyes of Red Tails, Red Shouldereds, Coopers, and possibly others. All it takes is a small mistake or an unguarded instant to lose one of the girls to one of these stealthy, talented hunters.
One of our chickens confronts a Sharp Shined hawk in the coop
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| A Coopers hawk surveying the field |
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| A Red Shouldered hawk patiently waiting |
