Following the Angry Mob

Several books I’ve read (can’t recall specific titles as I’ve seen it many places) suggest that following agitated Blue Jays and crows can often lead you to an owl or a hawk.

What’s going on in those cases is mobbing behavior, which is when a group of birds harass a predator, usually without directly attacking it, in order to annoy it into leaving.

I had never successfully managed to follow birds to the source of their ire until just a few weeks ago.

On a Saturday morning, I heard Blue Jays screeching in the trees and groups of them flying north along one of the nearby trails. This persisted through most of the morning and, finally, I decided to follow as it was a good morning for walking.

I walked down the trail in the general direction of the jays’ racket until I reached a clearing at the bottom of a hill. I couldn’t see any Blue Jays, but I could hear them in a stand of trees off the trail to the east so I followed their calls into a thick stand of cedar and live oak.

The jays calmed for a few minutes when I entered, but then resumed their cries. I saw flashes of blue in the trees while I tried to locate the object of their insults. Then I sensed movement, large and slow, directly above. I looked up to see a hawk swooping through the trees and angling upward and away, gaining speed with each beat of its wings. The hawk was gone before I got a great look, but by its banded tail, I suspect it was a Red-shouldered Hawk.

So, I thought to myself, I guess there’s something to this mobbing thing after all. It’s always oddly surprising to me when I read something and then later witness the very thing I’ve read about. I’m not sure why that is, except perhaps that there is a part of me that has to see something to really believe it.

Last week, I saw it again from my car. This time it was a small flock of crows chasing something – I couldn’t tell if it was a hawk or an owl – away from a stand of trees along Brushy Creek. I wanted to turn and follow to see what they were chasing, but I decided to head home and let the dogs out instead.

I have seen and believe what can happen if I fail to do that.

James Brush

James Brush is a teacher and writer who lives in Austin, TX. He tries to get outside as much as possible.

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