Sparrow Hawks

[trouthunter]

Ok Im no bird expert but saturday 10/15 I was fishing/hiking a creek near Raquette Lake and I saw something Id never seen before. As I got towards the top of a small hillside I heard a bird squawking at my golden retriever who was about 30 yards ahead of me.I slowed my pace and started looking for the bird. I stopped in my tracks when I spotted it on a nearby pine tree still staring down my dog. It appeared to be a Sparrow hawk! This is my favorite bird of prey (ya gotta love a bird that can fly as fast as a Nextel cup car at Atlanta)! Seconds later I see another one nearby,then another and another I bet there were at least 20 of them jumpin from pine tree to pine tree in a very dense stand of small pines.As I recall they were shaped like a small hawk,with a long tail and grey in color.
Does this make sense? Do Sparrow hawks gather like this? Are they common in the area? Please tell me Im not crazy!

[redhawk]

It's migration time so it is possible that a lot gather on their journey.

[birdny]

I've been birding for about 25 years now and have never seen that many American Kestrels (the former name was Sparrow Hawk) together even during migration. I highly doubt they were hawks. During migration if hawks are together they are overhead heading south. When they are not in the air migrating they are very territorial and dont "hang out" together. "Sparrow Hawks" are small about the size of a Robin. The males are white below with black spots, the breast is a buffy wash, the wings blue, the back and tail are orange with black barring. The females look the same with orange wings instead of blue.

[Boreal Chickadee]

trouthunter: Try this link and tell us if this might have been the bird.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Gray_Jay.html

[trouthunter]

Like I said Im no expert! After looking at the link I think they were probaly Gray Jays.Do they migrate in groups? My first guess at what it was before even seeing it was a blue jay because of the way it sounded sqawking at my dog.They seemed to be eagerly feeding on bugs on the small tight brushy pines they were in.
In my defense it was a dark overcast day and I was in a very thick brushy area with little light.excuses excuses LOL. Thanks for the replies and cool link!

[birdny]

If they were Gray Jays it was a wonderful sight. According to BULLS BIRDS OF NEW YORK the maxima of Gray Jays at one location was 15 on Keese Mill Rd in Franklin County 9-3-1988. They are found in the Adirondacks but are not a "common" species.

[Boreal Chickadee]

birdny- Can you think of anything else they might have been? I agree, the gray jays I've come across in the ADks were at most 4 or 6 at a time but with the tremendous fallout we've been seeing this fall I thought it might be a possibility.

Be on the lookout for a big finch irruption this winter. Boreal cone supply in Canada is next to nothing so finches should be abundant this winter. Red breated nuthatches usually follow this pattern with the finches.

I'm hoping for a nice great gray owl irruption again this winter. Last year we went to Canada for some owling and had a great time. Now that I've seen the area a bit I'd like to go back. My timing for when to go inland and when to go out on Amherst Island will be better.

[Kevin]

Was this one of the birds?



I've seen this Jay along the Hoovenburg heading up Marcy twice now, in the same general area in summer and winter. He will actually eat out of your hand. No, I didn't feed the wild animals...

[Boreal Chickadee]

kevin, Great picture of a "camp robber". Gray jays are famous for being absolutely unabashed about begging for food. Use high quality black oil sunflower seed if you want to have some fun. Don't worry about them starving etc and all the other folklore. Even our backyard feeder birds have been found to only get 20% of their total food intake from feeders.

[wanderingspirit]

Since I have started hiking I have been amazed at the number of different bird calls I have heard and the birds that I have seen. Not to change the thread, but can someone give advise on what books are available to help identify the multitude of different birds seen in the woods?

[poconoron]

There are a number of them including:

Sibley Guide to Birds
Audubon Bird Guide
Peterson Guide to Birds

I usually get the editions which focus on our area which normally is called "Eastern Guide" or "Eastern Region". They are all good and have their pros and cons. For example, my Audubon has color photos which is nice, but does not show the birds from different vantage points, i.e., underneath view as if bird is flying overhead, etc. The Sibley Guide has exceptional color drawings of the birds and also has a separate volume on bird behavior which is quite fascinating in it's own right.

Check them out on Amazon or wherever you shop.

[redhawk]

There are several bird books that are specific to the Adirondacks. You can usually get one at stores that deal with adirondack stuff like Hoss's in Long Lake, Charlie Johns in SSpeculator and many others in diffefernt townss.