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The roadrunner is becoming more and more habitualized as it is becoming more comfortable with my presence, since I offer him the occasional handout. He comes to expect it now! He allowed me some up-close portrait photography and many times would come inside the minimum focus distance of my 600mm lens! I will have to start shooting him now with the 70-200mm lens! |  |
I finally had my first Sharp-shinned Hawk show up! A juvenile, he was patiently waiting right next to the trap. I went out there to get one of the two remaining trapped male HOSPs, and the sharpie had his eyes set on me, from a perch about 25 yards away, and what I was doing. I clipped the HOSP's wings and approached the sharpie, who was now perched atop one of the neighbor's pines about 70 yards away. I released the HOSP, but I apparently clipped so much of its primaries that it could not get off the ground. It quickly found a clump of tall grass for cover, so I went over there to find him. In the meantime, Sharpie moved perches and I didn't know it. I assumed he was in the same place, so I re-released the HOSP toward the tree where I thought he was. I was like "oh crap, where did Sharpie go?" So I went after the HOSP again (poor thing was making distress calls), to capture it and put it back in the holding area of the trap. Well, seconds later I hear this "WHOOSH!" and sure as shit, it was Sharpie. It flew past me on my left like maybe 7 or 8 feet away and snatched the HOSP. It didn't even know it was coming, and neither did I! Amazing. Anyway, I didn't feel so bad for the HOSP, because it didn't suffer long, I'm sure, and I fed a hungry juvenile accipiter. I'm hoping the Sharpie hangs around now, although I'm not sure how the roadrunner would feel about that. So much drama in the back yard now!
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