look what’s atop my truck
Small Game
Photos taken shortly after arriving home from work yesterday… It’s a yearling Redtail hawk…
He started showing up a little over a week or so ago and has been hanging around my house and the neighborhood ever since…
He’s pretty brazen too, allowing me to approach pretty close before flushing…
The day before I took this picture off my back deck, (see tree limb at top) he swooped at one of my dogs… They’re only lapdogs, but believe it or not, he chose the biggest one of the three… I was standing on the deck and was calling her and as she comes running down off the hill the bird streaked around the side of the house and swoops at her 20 feet in front of me coming within inches of her. Had I not been there, am sure he would have hit her… Never seen him/her coming and was dropped jawed as it happen in front of me… My dog was oblivious of what happened, don’t think she even seen him/her…8^)
Watched it catch a chipmunk in the yard the other day... Notice how close it is to the squirrel box at right...
He/She is there daily now and I’ve been keeping and eye on him and the dogs when they are out, and so far so good, no entanglement, so I think he/she is gonna leave them alone, but the big little woman is still concerned for the dogs...
Cool pics Z. Once had an owl perch atop my cabin every evening looking to grab an easy meal off the nearby bird feeder
Crazy stuff Zbone! Brazen is right!
I'd watch those dogs closely!
Mark
I heard they taste just like chicken!
He was perched on the limb directly above the squirrel box only a couple feet away the day before yesterday when I got home from work... I suspect he knows there are young squirrels in that box... I walked in the house (the tree is only about 15 paces away) and he never flew... I let the dogs out and he watched them intently but didn't attack, but didn't fly away either... Then when the big little woman got home he was still there and didn't fly either... I think he gotten used to us and unafraid... I know why he's there, I feed corn and birdseed year round and he has a smorgasbord of small critters to chose with all the chipmunks, squirrels, both young and old and newly fledged baby song birds... He ain't gonna leave the food source...8^)
Didn't see him yesterday, but I can always tell when he's around by the screaming birds, he drives the Robins crazy...
Ironically the day he was perched at the squirrel box, an hour or so after he was gone a couple half grow squirrels were playing in the tree, so he ain't got them all...8^) Now if he'd only kill a couple of the neighborhood cats...8^)
Thats one of those hawks with a DEA implant....
what are you growing over there? Grin
Here he is at the squirrel box...
As of yesterday, at least three young grey squirrels (bout half grown) living in the box were still alive, and kinda cool and unique all three are of different color, one normal grey, one jet black and the other kinda in between of a charcoal color so am able to identify them...
The 17 year cicadas emerged at my house Friday, so if he can't catch the squirrels, he'll be able to survive on the cicadas...8^)
The squirrels will eat them too...8^)
The dogs luv to chase the squirrels around, it’s an ongoing drama with the dogs and squirrels, heck the squirrels will tease the dogs just out of their jumping reach, but anyhow, there was a big ole fat fox squirrel at the feeder the other day when I let out the dogs out and immediately the Yorie (smallest of my three) takes off after it and off the hill streaking from behind comes the hawk over top the dog... At first I about freaked, but quickly realized he wasn't after the dog, but the squirrel… He is using the dogs to help hunt…. Go figure…
As of today the hawk is still hanging around, because I heard the robins screaming down in the woods as I was leaving for work this morning...
