In the morning, there is often something going on along the shores of Stamp Act Island. Oct 4th was no exception. Approaching the island, crows were seen headed for it and as you got closer, there was a lot of noise. At one of the small beaches, there was a group of 20 or so crows hopping along the shore. Some were taking baths, some were drinking but it also seemed that some were just “discussing” things. In the background was a cacophony of caws as dozens of other crows must have been harassing an owl.
Then, there was a flash of a lighter colored bird chasing a crow, hardly saw it but then in a minute or so, the chase happened again. Ultimately, the light colored bird landed on a branch and sat for its picture.
It is a little hard to see but it is a Cooper’s Hawk. It is about the same size as a crow and it took a bit or research to find that they do have “crow” on their menu. Generally, hawks will only take smaller birds but the females (which are larger than the males) will attack crows with success. It was interesting, however, that the crows were not harassing the Cooper’s Hawk and were all dealing with an owl.
After awhile, the crows moved and I never did see if the hawk caught a crow. The crows moved to sit on rocks and in trees. There were lots of them but it seems to be an almost daily occurance at this time of year. Crows go to the islands, yell and scream at some bird and then ultimately disperse.
