Generally, my wife and I both agree that we enjoy the sight of the numerous birds that visit our year-round bird feeding stations.

Along with the hundreds of song birds that visit the stations, we also attract many game birds and other assorted Pennsylvania’s wildlife. Often times this affords me to observe and study the behaviors of many forms of wildlife that most of us would not observe up close and personal.

Along with the winter flocks and local residents of bird species, they also attract the raptors of the region. When the raptors are in the neighborhood you are likely going to see the regular birds scatter for their own good and safety.

I have seen everything from a Bald Eagle to a Horned Owl to a Red-Tailed Hawk patrol our country road both by day and night. However, it’s the smaller raptors that have received our attention in recent weeks as they have made a visit to the feeding stations a bit more frequently.

Just this week I was doing some reading in front of a large window that faces one of our feeding stations. A frenzied flight of a mixed flock of small birds like sparrows, juncos and chickadees caught my attention as the rush of wings and chirps suddenly erupted.

I watched as a crow-sized hawk made a dive bomb at the group and finally zeroed in on one poor soul. The small bird ducked into some bushes and appeared to have made his escape good. The hawk was undeterred and dove into the thick shrub as well and it was almost like a short movie feature as the leaves and branches became alive with activity.

I called to my wife, “You’ve got to check this out … a hawk is on the hunt in our plantings after a small bird.” We watched with interest as the flushing of the shrubs continued and I saw a small bird make his getaway.

I thought that is going to be one frustrated hawk letting his prey get away after all that effort. Soon I saw that the effort was not in vain as the hawk hopped out into a clear area and did have a prize prey in his talons.

My wife was aghast and wanted to go out and chase off the hawk, but I held her off with the comment, “They are just doing what they do to survive.”

At that point I knew that I had a great opportunity to not only observe a hawk do his thing, but also an opportunity to study a hawk that I wasn’t very familiar with and could identify as he sat feet away from the window view.

One of the greatest resource guides that I have ever obtained is my set of The Audubon Society Field Guide Series Books. The book that I was using was the Field Guide to North American Birds in the Eastern Region.

This is the first all-photographic field guide with 584 identification pictures in a full-color photograph of a living bird. It is immensely valuable to helping a bird watcher figure out just what bird species they are observing and learning about.

This is a great tool and a wonderful acquisition as is the entire set of field guides offered that cover everything from birds to mammals to wildflowers and much more.

We quickly opened the guide to the section on hawk-like birds and found our raptor with a clear and identifying photograph. The guide was also able to show us about the hawks’ preferred habitat and hunting style which also matched up to his actions.

A review of the field guide led me to zero in on the Sharp-shinned Hawk which is a jay-sized hawk that specializes in hunting sparrows and warblers as its primary prey. Although it prefers coniferous forests in migration, they can be found almost in any setting of coniferous/deciduous areas.

This hawk is known for its quickness and is expanding its range all over North America. I guess we were fortunate to be able to study this hawk up close because it has the reputation of being intolerant of civilization in general.

So now we can add another close up and personal experience of studying a raptor in action to our journal. The Audubon Society Field Guide came in handy once again and with the environmental educational opportunities offered through the Audubon Society, we are all better served through their conservation actions through wildlife sanctuaries, outdoor/classroom education centers and ecology workshops.

For further information in joining the local Audubon Society, contact the Bartramian Audubon Society P.O. Box 315 Slippery Rock, PA 16057.