Cool critters: Keep a sharp eye out for nature’s speed machine

The sharp-shinned hawk, commonly called a sharpie, is a small hawk with a big attitude.

About the size of a blue jay, it is the smallest hawk in North America. No matter. Sharpies use their short, powerful wings to ambush their prey in a blur of movement. Widespread though not commonly seen, these birds are legendary for knifing through thickets of trees and shrubs as they pursue birds and mice for meals.

Many sharp-shins who spent summer in the Inland Northwest are starting their migratory journeys southward, while others will be wintering here.

“It used to be rare for sharp-shinned hawks to stay in this region, but more of them are wintering farther north than they used to,” wildlife biologist Mark Vekasy of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said.

One reason more sharpies and other bird species are staying put for winter is that “urban landscapes can be attractive for them, particularly when people stock bird feeders throughout winter,” Vekasky said, adding that sharpies are drawn to birds eating at the feeders.

According to a growing body of research, warming temperatures are also spurring more birds to hang around. Drawing on 40 years of data, scientists with the Audubon Society found that 177 bird species – including the sharpie – are responding to climate change by wintering in more northern locales. During the 40 years analyzed by researchers, the average January temperature in the United States rose by 5 degrees, a rise most notable in northern states, including Washington and Idaho, according to the 2009 study.

Whether sharp-shinned hawks are leaving our region for warmer climates or sticking around for the snowfall, learning a few things about them can make it easier for you to spot one. And it’s a thrill – even if a sighting lasts only a matter of seconds.

“It’s amazing to watch how quickly they go after prey, the way they fly through small spaces in dense tree cover and how they turn on a dime,” said Vekasy, who once trapped, banded and released migrating sharp shins at the Utah/Nevada border for the conservation organization Hawk Watch International.

“They seem somewhat fearless,” he said.

Sharpies are mostly found in areas with plenty of trees where they can flush out from branches and surprise prey. How to identify a dark figure concealed by foliage which also happens to be a speed machine in flight?

Adult sharpies are grayish on the upper body with rust-colored horizontal streaks on their creme-colored breasts. They also have long, thin yellow legs, short, broad wings and a long tail used like a rudder to maneuver in flight. Females are considerably larger than the males.

Pay attention to the details, advised Spokane birder and photographer Tom Munson.

“You need to know what to look for,” particularly because they are similar in appearance to their cousin, the Cooper’s hawk, he said.

Unlike a Cooper’s hawk that displays a round-tipped tail, the end of a sharp-shin’s tail is squared off. While an adult sharpie is roughly the size of a blue jay, the bulkier Cooper’s hawk is more crow-sized.

The shape of the head is another way to differentiate the two adult species. A sharpie’s head is rounded, in contrast to the large and blockish Cooper’s head. While both adult species have red eyes, “a sharpie’s eyes appear much bigger than those of a Cooper because its head is smaller,” Munson said. “Its eyes take up more room.”

Now that fall migration has begun, you may have a better chance of seeing a sharpie. Although they don’t travel in flocks, their numbers are more concentrated as they pass favored migratory points southward through the Pacific Northwest. With experience and luck, you might even get a good photograph of one.

“Once in a while it works, but you have to be patient and put in some time,” said Munson, who photographed a determined-looking sharpie flying a migratory path about 100 miles north of Spokane.

What about the sharpies that stay here? Come winter, leafless branches and snowy landscapes will make them easier for you to see. Which brings us back to the subject of bird feeders.

If you disdain the idea of a sharp-shin killing songbirds gathered at your feeder, “the best thing to do is to take down your feeders for a couple of weeks,” the Cornell Lab of Ornithology recommends. “The hawk will move on, and the songbirds will return when you put your feeders back up.”

Another option is to place your feeder near a structure such as a garage or shed, which creates an obstacle for the sharpie to get around, according to the Audubon Society.

“This allows birds to see any potential predators – but doesn’t allow the predators to catch birds on the feeders,” the organization states on its website.

A third option? Let nature run its course. After all, sharpies, like all living creatures, gotta eat to survive.