These are bird-eating hawks, growing more common as the deadly effects of decades of DDT pesticide use grow more distant. After a few minutes the hawk left empty-clawed. Right outside the window, in the small, enclosed yard, was a sharp-shinned hawk, checking out the bushes around the bird feeder. He's been there before, said Bob Hall, our host. After finding no success, he moved on to other yards nearby.
Bird hawks are feisty and smart.
They know good hunting grounds and don't mind the proximity of mankind as much as you'd think. That's Bullock's oriole is way out of place. For a long time, Bullock's and Baltimore orioles were considered separate species. Then a few years ago, scientists decided they were just variants of one species, which they called the northern oriole. But much of the pleasure of many birders, the latest thinking is that they are two species.