Sharp-Shinned Hawk

This Sharp-Shinned Hawk made a visit to the yard yesterday.

• Behavior

  Sharp-shinned Hawks are agile fliers that speed through dense woods to surprise their prey, typically songbirds. They do not stoop on prey from high overhead. They may also pounce from low perches. When flying across open areas they have a distinctive flap-and-glide flight style.

• Habitat

  Sharp-shinned Hawks breed in deep forests. During migration, look for them in open habitats or high in the sky, migrating along ridgelines. During the nonbreeding season they hunt small birds and mammals along forest edges and sometimes at backyard bird feeders, causing a wave of high-pitched alarm calls among the gathered songbirds.

Baltimore Oriole Nest

For the first time this year, we had a beautiful pair of Baltimore Orioles in the yard.  They have such a beautiful song.  I discovered their nest, hanging high above our driveway, when all the leaves came off the trees.

Like many other birds, the female Baltimore Oriole is the primary nest builder. Making a hanging nest made from plant fibers and suspended from a branch 6 to 90 feet above ground. While it's quite common for them to return each year to the same territory it's rare that they will use the same nest itself. They often take parts of old nest to build a new one, so you may see them at the old nest site.

Below photo from web showing Baltimore Oriole and his nest.