Thursday, November 12, 2009

Jeanette (Beachy) Saffarek Smithers BC



Murder in the back yard by Northern Goshawk.
Beachy news has been a bit slow lately, so I decided to add a bit of my family news. This picture came in Nov. 11, 09, from my daughter in Smithers BC. She titled it "Murder in The Back Yard" Jeanette & her husband Kurt have wild Mallard Ducks that nest each summer in a pond on their rural property. They feed the ducks on their back yard during the summer until they migrate south in the late fall, to return again in the spring. This day a Northern Goshawk came through and killed one of the Mallards. The duck can be identified by the blue wing patch that is seen beneath the hawk. Jeanette also took a video of the hawk lifting off with difficulty. My niece Carol who is a Birder for many years, said the Goshawk is an accipiter in the same family as the Cooper's Hawk and the Sharp-shinned Hawks. It is known to attack duck decoys and is not afraid to catch prey close to humans. Thanks Carol for identifying the hawk for us and thanks Jeanette for sharing the picture. Posted by editor of this site.