We were eating lunch at home, gazing out the kitchen window into a cold rainy November afternoon. Suddenly a hawk swooped down and caught some kind of rodent, then flew to a nearby tree. He finished his meal in a few minutes, then after swiping his beak several times on the tree bark, he ruffled and shook the water droplets off his feathers.
I was intrigued by the beak-wiping behavior. It definitely appeared that the hawk was wiping off its beak. I also noticed that the branch he was wiping his beak on was covered with lichen. I wondered if I should reinterpret my post Crow Threatens Hawk with Lichen. Perhaps the crow was merely offering a napkin. 🙂
I don’t think this is the same Cooper’s Hawk that took a Pine Siskin back in March. That particular one had a more gray mantle, characteristic of an adult. This one has more brown which to my understanding suggests it is a juvenile.
The hawk stayed in the tree for several more minutes and let me get some additional photos.
