Buffalo Gal

On this sunny Wednesday in early September, we have had unusual visits to our Buffalo-Bluff…wait, not unusual …just unseen by us in the past.     The two birds seen today are fascinating….a white breasted nuthatch and an American Sparrow Hawk have been watched and photographed today.
I saw the nuthatch this morning when I went out on the deck and surprised the little bird who was feeding on sunflower seeds from a patch of small-variety sunflowers I had sown this spring. The sunflowers are much smaller than the Mammoth Russian variety but the small flowers are producing many seeds which birds are enjoying. Today it was the nuthatch’s turn to feast. He/ or/ She was small…with the characteristic large head, short body and short tail. It had a black cap and a black stripe on its cheeks and its all powerful bill was picking the nuts out of the sunflowers with ease.    But it flew away when I opened the door. Tomorrow I might sit quietly on the deck and maybe get to watch the nuthatch(es) eat sunflower seeds. This one had a blue-gray back with a white breast and face. It was beautiful and I learned a few things about nuthatches today. They stay around through all seasons in wooded areas, feed on seeds, nuts and insects.   They are known for wedging a piece of food in a crevice on a tree or post and hammering away at it with their powerful bills til they have finished eating.    Perhaps that is why bird watchers and feeders wedge pieces of suet into feeding stations…to attract winter nuthatches.
The Sparrow Hawk was spotted by my husband who saw it fly over him on its 22- inch wingspan, and light on top of one of the six yard swings my husband has built from our own ash trees.    The swings are arranged in a circle around our fire pit and the hawk rested on the top span of a swing. It was not at all afraid of humans. My husband got his camera, returned to the swings and walked past the perching bird and sat down and took several pictures while the hawk seemed to pose for him.   Our cat walked through the circle of swings on her way into the shelter belt trees and the hawk did not so much as flinch. It is very calm as it sits there waiting patiently for prey to appear. It will dart down silently if it sees a mouse or mole or other small rodent.     It will do the same if it has a chance at a small bird like a sparrow or titmouse or small finch.   People who feed birds so not like Sparrow Hawks because, naturally, the birds will hang around the bird feeder in order to catch some food for itself. Birdfeeders are recommended to be partially sheltered near trees or shrubs if they do not want sparrow hawks catching the birds they are feeding.
Last summer I recall the horror of my friend who was watching starlings eating some seeds on her deck when suddenly a small hawk swooped down and captured one of the birds. It must have been a sparrow hawk!
Speaking of nuthatches reminds me of another word…. “nutter”…. which could be applied to the Rev. Terry Jones, the pastor of a small Florida church who is planning to have his people burn a pile of Korans on 9-11- in just a few days.    Even General David Petraeus has joined in the upsetting reactions to this planned event by asking that it not be done. He sees more attacks coming in Afghanistan if such a plan is carried out. Every government official has weighed in also asking that it not be done but the Rev. Jones says it WILL be done. This will be like waving a red flag in front of an angry bull because Muslims will not take kindly to this desecration of what they consider their holy book.   I imagine other faiths like Christians, Jews and Hindus and Buddhists would be angry and upset if their holy books were burned so publicly.    But Muslims—especially the militant ones will do more than react—they will, no doubt attack…in some way. Burning Korans is not a good way to show a protest against this religion…not at all.
70 percent of Americans oppose the building of the mosque/Muslim center so near Ground Zero but the oppostion can be demonstrated in more sensible ways than what Rev. Jones wants to do.