Sharp-shinned Hawk

This entry is part 19 of 24 in the series 2012 Photojournal

Recently there has been a raptor in the neighborhood chasing birds attracted by the food Connor and Rowan have been putting out. They told me it was a Merlin they saw, and as a result, I have assumed the raptor I’ve had glimpses of has been a Merlin – even though I never really saw it well enough to be sure. Today I noticed a bird perched in the large alder tree south of the house. There was a break in the clouds behind it from my perspective and the sun brightly illuminating the puffy cumulus clouds made it difficult to see very well. I got a slightly better angle by moving to the southwest corner of the deck, but still didn’t have a good look. Despite that, I took these pictures and was subsequently able to tell the bird was a Sharp-shinned Hawk rather than a Merlin. I’m now uncertain whether it’s been this bird all along, or if there are multiple raptors visiting the neighborhood this winter.

Rain overnight and the temperatures dropped, so for the first time in a while there was snow down the slopes of Gavan Hill. It seemed pretty dark this morning, with heavy cloud cover producing the rain and hail/graupel, but this afternoon things broke and sun shown for a while. This evening I noticed stars showing in across much of the sky, though overcast returned after that.

Read more

Northern Goshawk

This entry is part 20 of 24 in the series 2012 Photojournal

Last week I got a call from someone who had seen a Northern Goshawk near Sitka Community Hospital. He was alerted when he heard his chickens sounding alarmed, and found an immature goshawk (though he wasn’t sure what it was at the time) on top of the pen – which was covered with chainlink fencing. From there it flew off to a tree where he was able to get a good look at it.

I’m guessing this juvenile that I photographed today is the same bird. I first saw it flying across Park Street and down Etolin. I didn’t get a great look, but it seemed too large for the Sharp-shinned Hawks which have been frequenting the neighborhood this winter. It landed in a tree where I couldn’t see it. A raven made a dive at it and it flew to another nearby tree where I was able to get a better look (and these photos). Ravens made another couple of half-hearted passes at it before it took off and appeared to head toward the ground behind a house with chickens and ducks. I checked it out, but when I approached toward where the chicken yard is, the goshawk flew away toward the west along Biorka Street and I lost sight of it.

Read more

Late Winter Snow

This entry is part 21 of 24 in the series 2012 Photojournal

I spent much of the day in bed feeling groggy and tired from a head cold. Snow was falling this morning when I first looked and continued until late afternoon or early evening. I took these pictures of nearly 10 inches of snow accumulated on the deck railing around 2pm. Hopefully this late season snow doesn’t stick around for too long, but there have been years when we’ve had significant snow well into April.

Read more

Equinox Sunset

This entry is part 22 of 24 in the series 2012 Photojournal

After yesterday’s snow, today brought clear blue skies and a brightly shining sun. I am still fighting a head cold, and wasn’t able to enjoy the weather as much as I might have liked (Connor and Rowan were able to spend much of the day sledding at the golf course with friends, which they enjoyed … Read more