Thank you all for the heads-up. We live SE of that area, in the east end of Macalester-Groveland, or Randolph Heights. Our feeders have been exceptionally quiet, which I've attributed to the presence of our local Merlin(s). It made sense, since I was hearing their familiar call close by, during recent numerous hours of shoveling.
It hadn't occurred to me that the lengthy scarcity of feeder action, even by squirrels, might also indicate a larger predator. While there's been a local Red-tail around, we've noticed far more noise and sentinel/chase behavior on the part of of our Crows than Red-tail, Merlin, Cooper's, or Sharpies have elicited in the past. Now I will be on the lookout for a nomadic Goshawk! Good birding, Linda Whyte On Wed, Jan 11, 2023, 1:32 AM Leslie Marcus <lachick...@gmail.com> wrote: > On Tue, Jan 10, 2023 at 11:00 PM MOU-NET automatic digest system < > lists...@lists.umn.edu> wrote: > > > There is 1 message totaling 43 lines in this issue. > > > > Topics of the day: > > > > 1. Possible Goshawk Ramsey County Hamline-Midway neighborhood > > > > ---- > > General information and guidelines for posting: > > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2023 21:15:17 +0000 > > From: Simon Emms <skemms2...@outlook.com> > > Subject: Possible Goshawk Ramsey County Hamline-Midway neighborhood > > > > This morning a very large juvenile accipiter briefly visited a tree next > > to my garden birdfeeder near the intersection of Aldine and Blair. I saw > it > > with the naked eye through a window from about 15 feet away, but it flew > > off before I could grab a camera or binoculars. I’m tilting (cautiously) > > towards Goshawk rather than Cooper’s based on the following features: > > > > 1. Size and bulk. It looked very large – rather like a Red-shouldered > > Hawk but with a longer tail. It was much larger than a very brave gray > > squirrel that was mobbing it from a few feet away, and although I didn’t > > see them simultaneously, I would say it was easily more than twice the > size > > of a Blue Jay or a Red-bellied Woodpecker and larger than an American > Crow. > > On the other hand, it may have looked larger than it was simply because > of > > how close I was to it. > > 2. Color and patterning. I saw it from the side-rear, and it seemed to > > have a greyish mid-brown tone, rather than a dark brown one, and had lots > > of coarse white spotting on its back and coverts. The left flank looked > > near-white, and the dark spotting seemed coarse, but the view wasn’t > great. > > I had a good look at its head, and didn’t see an obvious white > supercilium, > > but it was perched somewhat above my eye level. > > > > I realize that none of this is definitive, and that in an urban > > neighborhood Cooper's is far more likely, but I thought I’d put the > > information out for anyone who lives and birds in the neighborhood or > > surroundings (Como Park is quite close). If it was a Goshawk, it’s > possible > > that it’s the same bird that was seen at Vadnais and Sucker Lakes in late > > 2022. > > > > Simon Emms > > > > ---- > > General information and guidelines for posting: > > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > End of MOU-NET Digest - 9 Jan 2023 to 10 Jan 2023 (#2023-8) > > *********************************************************** > > > > ---- > General information and guidelines for posting: > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > ---- General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
