Hawk drama
 

Woke up to warm weather so was outside this morning at about 7am and heard birds going crazy. Figured maybe an eagle or hawk or osprey was circling. Instead I looked up and saw a hawk with a squirrel in the pine tree.

The other birds and other squirrels were trying to rescue their squirrel friend. I even saw a bluejay land on the hawk's back and peck at the hawk's head. Another squirrel went right up to the hawk and tried to punch at it. Amazing how all these different animals came together to battle this hawk.

I will admit, if I could have reached it, I would have tried to save the squirrel because saving underdog animals has always been my way. i realize the hawk probably has a nest full of babies to feed and one squeeze of the hawk's talons probably sealed the squirrels fate anyway. Off it went

Still shot from the video I took

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On a more peaceful note, here's a couple of bald eagles i saw last night. Bad pic with iPhone because the nest is way up there. Nothing makes me happier than to see these bald eagles coming back in New York. Saw my first one in December of 2009 and now, barely a day goes by that I do not see one if I look up. I get a huge thrill every time. Never gets old seeing bald eagles

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The world is a cruel place. I'm sure all the chickens, fish, cows and pigs we eat would concur.

Second pic is simply cool. I've never seen a bald eagle in person...I'm envious.

We have halks and falcons here all the time...occasionally sitting right on my fountain. The other animals tend to make themselves scarce when the big boys are around. :)

Eagles and hawks are fierce predators and an important piece of the eco puzzle. We have a Cooper's Hawk that regularly hunts our yard for doves and tweety birds. I don't enjoy watching him quickly pluck and filet a gentle dove on my lawn but I get it. The circle of life.

Here are pics of my first bald eagle siting, right in my back yard. Came home, looked out window and there they were. December 2009. It was a very nasty cold and windy day and the eagles seem to like that. Any time we have high wind, I can find eagles along the Lake Ontario shoreline. This was the closest I have ever been to a wild eagle to date...maybe 20 yards at most for about 15 minutes as they hunted the edge of the water for dying Chinook Salmon. 16 years later and I still get excited when I see these photos.....Im 53, never thought I would see such a thing here and looking out and seeing this site in NY state blew my mind at the time

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Very cool.

Hawks very common around here , I hear and see them . Several times a year I find a " dove explosion zone " in the yard . Feathers everywhere I then know a hawk got another one . Mother nature doing what she does .

I find them too once or twice a year. The aftermath looks like a lawn mower ran over a bird

We get the occasional hawk every now and then. One year we had a mockingbird that would sing from the top of a nearby telephone pole. As I was leaving in the car I noticed a hawk dive and grab him. It was quiet the rest of that summer as no other mockingbirds took over his territory.
The other day while out bbq'ing I noticed two mockingbirds harassing a crow one block over. I personally hate crows as they're the rats of the bird world IMO.

The crow is the smartest of all birds. I don't dislike them, but I do not "watch" them or find them thrilling in any way. Probably because they are everywhere and just blend in going about their business.

Very cool drama to me. lol
Lots of birds of prey around here because of the lake.
My son is a primary teacher and during recess one pounced on a squirrel in the middle of the school yard to everyone's shock. It then took it up to the closest tree and ripped it apart. I see counseling in these kid's future.

Excellent description. They hit em hard and fast !

Big mess when they hit a Dove in the yard. Mainly Cooper's Hawks around here.

Luckily, I see lots of eagles when I am fishing at my place in NW Wisconsin. They will sit and watch from a tree, waiting for a released fish to float on the surface. Have had a couple grab them close enough to my boat that I am able to hear them grab and flap but actually feel the air move from their wings. Very, very cool experience that I have been able to share with a handful of people.

3 Years ago, in the Fall, we were able to watch a mother teach her young to grab fish. One did well, the other was a bit concerned about hitting the water.

We get loads every winter. Come down from the frozen north and nest down by the river.

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Beautiful birds. Aside from the ones who come to our yard occasionally, the closest I've been to a hawk was on a local golf course. He was sitting at the base of the tree, just watching the world go by. Was weird to see him on the ground, without a care in the world as golf carts drove by and what not.

Bald eagles, vultures, red tail hawks and merlins are here year around. The osprey and harriers showed up a few weeks ago. I was rowing back home today and noticed a juvenile eagle coming up the river towards me. He flew low enough that I could see individual feathers, circled three times and went about his business. As he was circling, I could hear the woosh of the air through his feathers.
Great to see them. I can say that, I'm not a goose or other small critter.

Best
Les

We get lots of red shouldered and red tailed hawks here. I would probably see several every day if I spent much time looking outside. We get turkey vultures and black vultures which are huge birds that soar really well. We get crested caracaras which are beautiful birds. I think there are Eagles around here, but I've never seen one. I've seen them in FL a few times, but always at a distance Except the one time that I watched one snag a duck from a lake. It was a juvenile, and swooped 3 times then snagged the duck out of the water. It stood on the duck holding it down on the shore for a min or two occasionally adjusting it's grip, and then flew off with the duck like it was nothing. Amazing birds!

our skies here are filled with turkey vultures everyday. look up and there they are. when i was a kid here, there were none until i started noticing them about 20 years ago. no idea why that is.

we have cormorant as well. very destructive to the tree line around the local lakes and bays. never seen one until about 20 years ago.

I've posted these before.. taken from my house in Vermont.. We have a lakefront home where the land is quite steep to the shore of the lake.. So our Deck is pretty high..

I was sitting in a lounge chair when this guy lit on to a limb of a pine... Shopping for lunch..

Found a nice lunch.. and...

Selecting lunch

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Lunch


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Tim T great pics ! Thanks for sharing ��