Avian Evidence

We went back to the Hudson today to spy on the carcass, and once again, we scared off the carrion eaters before we could see them,  although we certainly heard them!  And we found their prints all over the snow around what was left of the deer: ravens, crows, eagles, coyotes, and (possibly) fisher.  A friend had been watching the scene before we arrived and told us an eagle had been fighting with several ravens.  We just missed them!  At midday, the feasters are mostly birds; the four-legged critters won't come out until night.  Most of the bird prints were too trampled or windblown to come out well in photos, but I did find this one that shows a bird landing and hopping (I'm guessing a crow by the size).

My best bird sighting today came at home, outside my kitchen window.  This sharp-shinned hawk stopped by for lunch, and apparently went away hungry.  I watched him (her?) sneak into the balsam propped up by the birdfeeders, rustle around in there a bit, and hop out empty handed (empty taloned?). Too bad.  I wouldn't mind thinning out our resident flock of English sparrows.  It's not that rare for sharpies to visit us, although we live on one of the busiest streets in Saratoga.  I guess it's because our feeders are probably the busiest for blocks around.