Plain Jane, Mad Mamma, and a Pesky Pest

For several days in a row this bird would come and feed on the grass under the bird feeder when no other birds were around.  I sort of felt sorry for her (she is a female) cuz she was all by herself, made no noise, and didn't seem to have a mate.  Then it dawned on me that she must be feeling inadequate because of what she looked like compared to her mate.

Here is her mate... Mr. Rose-Breasted Grosbeak in all his splendor (taken earlier this Spring).  No wonder she was intimidated.  I am sure glad that God made the females better looking than the males in our world. 

I heard the gentle "hoot" of the loons the other day.  They have four distinct calls and the gentle "hoot' is usually between a family unit, so I grabbed my camera and walked down the steps toward the lake.  There was Mama and one juvenile swimming sweetly by.  There had been two babies which I posted in an earlier blog, but between snapping turtles and Bald Eagles, the usual hatch of two seldom make it to adulthood.

Suddenly Mama turned and struck this intimidating pose along with sounding out her distress call.

An unwelcome intruder had invaded Mama's space and she made it known that she didn't like it.  At first it looked like the intruder was going to leave.

But then, he (the intruder must have been a guy cuz a lady loon would know better than the get the hackles up on another lady loon with a baby) decided to stand his ground (or lake).

What followed can best be described in these snaps.  What you don't get, of course, is the loud noises and splashing sounds.

Finally, the intruder got the hint and you can see him hollering over his shoulder, "Enough, already!"

Soon Mama and Jr. were together again and Mama managed to give me a wave as if to say, "I guess I showed him!"

This pesky pest, a Cooper's Hawk, is back in the park.  He feeds on birds and because there are so many feeders in the RV Park, this must be like a Cooper's Hawk Smorgasbord.  I took this on a cloudy day with him on the top of an evergreen tree.  I am not sure who is watching whom.

Here he is again and another one is in the top left hand corner and all you can see is a bit of brown.  It is not legal to shoot them but it is tempting.  Perhaps you recall my distaste for them at our home only to end up with me rescuing a Sharp Shinned Hawk (who looks almost identical) in the back yard with a broken wing earlier this Spring.