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RE: The Magpie and the Hawk


Just a note on Magpies vs Sharp-shinned Hawks.

Last week I saw two magpies gang up on a sharpshin. They chased it around the yard until he dropped the Pine Siskin he was carrying. The magpies then swooped down and grabbed the still kicking siskin for themselves. This is the third time I've witnessed magpies pirate food from sharp-shinned hawks. I?ve also witnessed Magpies trying to steal mice from a weasel. Your magpies were probably following your sharpie around in hopes of stealing his kill. And the hawk was trying to chase the magpies off so he could hunt in peace.

Twice this fall I saw a sharpie and magpies up in the foothills leisurely taking turns chasing each other around for no apparent reason. Just playing tag?

One of my sharpshins took a Spotted Towhee today. I love to have the hawks in the yard but I would prefer they concentrate on the House Sparrows.


Eric Huish
Pleasant Grove UT
poorwill_@hotmail.com
801-360-8777

----Original Message Follows----
From: "John Morgan" <jmorgan480@comcast.net>
Reply-To: "John Morgan" <jmorgan480@comcast.net>
To: "birdtalk" <birdtalk@utahbirds.org>
Subject: The Magpie and the Hawk
Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2005 17:49:44 -0700

My image of the Black-Billed Magpie as an intelligent and fearless bird
was tarnished today-maybe even shattered. At the same time, my image of
the Sharp-Shinned Hawk as a fearless hunter was much improved.

To preface the story that follows, I've never seen an accipiter "do it's
thing" in the air. Most former sightings have been of lazy-flapping,
nearly docile birds, leaving the impression that they couldn't
accelerate if they had to. There was no "running for the binoculars"
this time. (Ha! I already had them nearby.)

The story begins at 9:00 a.m. today. While casually watching out the bay
window at nearby feeders, the Finches scattered as they usually do
(about a hundred times a day) for seemingly no reason. Usually for
almost any reason at all, they'll be pecking away, then two-thirds of
them will hasten to cover in a nearby (but exposed) tree. The remaining
third usually look around then resume feeding, as if to say "What are
ya, chicken?" but within two seconds of the first exodus, the remaining
third exploded into flight.....and they looked scared as they exited.
This sudden exit flipped on my hawk radar and I looked up to see a
Sharp-Shinned hawk gliding to a lazy landing in the neighbor's Locust
tree.

The hawk looked rather uninterested as it changed positions several
times in the leafless tree. Suddenly it dove to the ground; again,
rather non-aggressively. Two Mourning Doves flushed out from their
unseen position behind the vinyl fence that divides our yards. They were
in high gear, and though I couldn't see what the hawk did while on the
ground, it quickly flew up and re-positioned itself on the golf course
chain link fence that borders all our backyards....indicating a miss. I
got some nice views through the binocs during this perch.

Shortly, two heckling Magpies appeared on the scene. Apparently they'd
been trailing the hawk as it moved about the largish area comprising my
neighbor's back yards and the golf course. They positioned themselves in
the Locust tree, rather close to the hawk's perch. As one of the Magpies
left the tree to seek a new heckling position elsewhere, the hawk
exploded off the fence and chased the Magpie through a series of evasive
manuevers then returned to a new position on the fence. The chase was a
clear victory for the hawk, who stayed nose-to-tail behind the Magpie as
indication it could fly circles around the Magpie. Wow, that was
impressive!

This is the point where the Magpies should've got the hint and gone
home, but NO....these weren't smart Magpies.

Shortly, the hawk moved to the next tree to the North (still within easy
view). The Magpies followed, taking a perch within 15' of the hawk. The
hawk tolerated this with seeming disinterest. Did I say this hawk seemed
hungry? Seemed so, for the instant one of the hecklers left it's perch
and became clear of the tree's obstructions, the hawk exploded again in
what I might call "full attack mode". The hawk closed quickly on the
idiot Magpie who was easily the same size, if not larger than this
Sharpie. The chase took place in a shallow dive, probably so the Magpie
could gain more speed, and they both disappeared out of sight behind a
neighbor's fence two yards to the North. I didn't see the hawk or Magpie
come up after disappearing.

"Holy cow! Can a Sharpie take a Magpie?" was my thought as I frantically
ran for gloves and shoes, knowing I'd have to cross the 12' tall chain
link fence in the back yard. I fully expected to see a Magpie being
disrobed in the neighbor's yard. A minute of shoe-tying passed, and as I
ran to the fence (so as to travel North through the golf course to gain
easy view of the neighbor's yard), a nearby tree now had 6 Magpies in
it. "A sure sign of carnage," I thought.

As I approached the zone of disappearance, the Magpies flew off and
there was no sign of either hawk or Magpie. I found the hawk again,
nearly a block to the North working trees in the golf course, but it
soon flew back to other neighbor's yards and I quickly lost sight of it.
No kills witnessed.

What I learned from all this: 1) hawks on the prowl get quite a
following of other birds, the bravest/stupidest of which is the Magpie;
2) hawks with attitude will show larger heckling birds who the "boss"
really is; 3) if a Sharpie can get relatively close to any prey other
than the Mourning Dove, it can easily overtake the other bird in the
air; 4) Sharpies, if not other accipiters, seem to become excited by a
fleeing bird; 5) based on what I saw, LBJ's could not out-maneuver
Sharpies! 6) Accipiters have two speeds: lazy, and insanely explosive!
Before this morning, I could not understand how a hawk could chase down
an LBJ that already had a head start. Now I can see how that can easily
happen.

This was a great experience for me-one that has been long-awaited.
John
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