Apparently, Young Naturalist J has been waiting and hoping all summer for a Sharp-shinned Hawk to enter the nets at one of Tom’s banding stations. Well, J… Today was the day, and you weren’t here… Too bad, so sad…
If Tom ever leaves World of Warcraft and posts his pictures, I’ll put one here showing him taking the Sharp-shinned Hawk out of the net (which I took with Tom’s camera as mine was back on the picnic table).
Here it is after banding:
Kyle and I played Rock-Paper-Scissors to see who would get to release it. I lost. Here’s the handoff to Kyle:
And here is Kyle, demonstrating the Lolli-pop hold shortly before releasing it:
I was pretty pleased with the way this closeup turned out… especially the reflection in the bird’s eye:
From the Cornell Website:
A small hawk, the Sharp-shinned Hawk is a regular visitor to bird feeders, where it eats birds, not seed. The male and female show a greater disparity in size than any other American hawk; the female is nearly twice the weight of the male.
I wish I had paid more attention to whether this one was male or female. I was just so excited that it was a hawk!
Learn more:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Sharp-shinned_Hawk_dtl.html
A Passion for Nature 
That last photo turned out great. You should try selling it to a nature magazine or something.
Wonderful shots. I can see why you are excited!
Lucky you, not to mention awesome photos. I, too, love the reflection in the hawk’s eye in the last picture.
By the way, does Tom know you ratted him out about WoW?
What a beautiful bird! I imagine that was quite a thrill.
That last shot is just spectacular! Young Naturalist J missing his chance to see the hawk. Too bad….so sad…I love it. I used to say that to my boys. Ah, but it really is a shame.
Love that last shot! Gorgeous!
Great photos one and all, but that close up is awesome.
Ha I’m sitting here chuckling over your little sneak about Tom and WoW. My you have been a busy girl. I didn’t think the mist nets could hold a hawk. Great catch and photos
Great shots – I would love to see one of these close up.
What a wonderful opportunity to see these birds at such close range! Love that last shot.
Great job. I was surprised to hear about a sharpie ending up in the net. But how wonderful. Too bad J missed out. Maybe he’ll be lucky and it will happen again when he’s there.
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