Seen from my window
a red-tailed hawk lies lifeless
fallen dead to Earth
I've always had a thing for red-tailed hawks, and for raptors in general, as the amazing creatures they are. Having volunteered with wildlife organizations for most of my adulthood, I've had the pleasure of being up close and personal with several, and they are quite simply majestic beings.
When I lived in Venice, California, I used to occasionally go watch the falconers at Playa del Rey, as they trained and exercised their birds, and marveled at their precision and speed in flight.
And yes, I had sympathy for the doves that were their prey, but even as a kid, I understood that death is a part of life, that some animals are designed to be prey, and that that's why they typically procreate much more rapidly than predators do, to maintain the balance necessary to sustain them both.
A couple of decades later, when I discovered that we had a bald eagle's nest literally a block from our home in Seminole, Florida, I spent a lot of time watching and photographing the birds, along with our resident ospreys, which were thriving along the verdant banks of Lake Seminole, with its abundant population of fish (and alligators).
My birthday present that year was a new camera to make such ventures easier and more productive, which was much appreciated, and for years I never went anywhere without it; I still always have a camera handy, though now it is much easier as my cell does almost as good a job. But I'll always have a thing for film over digital; our eyes and ears are analogue, and though digital has become quite good, analogue is still better overall, though no longer as practical in daily use.
I always found it interesting that, in Hollywood films, when they show bald eagles or golden eagles, the actual bird cry you hear is almost always a red-tailed hawk, as the eagles themselves have a less impressive and distinctive call. So you've heard them many, many times, even when you didn't realize that that was what you were hearing.
Earlier today, I read an article that described red-tailed hawks as the Labrador retrievers of the air, as they are not only the most common of our hawks, but tolerant of human habitation, thrive in even urban environments, and often cooperate with the humans in their territories.
The example used by the author of the article was an adult male red-tailed hawk in New York City, who has lived in the same area for at least eighteen years, and has been documented with his succession of mates and offspring, making quite a good living for themselves from the abundant pigeon population.
I don't know many New Yorkers who would begrudge them few pigeons, and I know at least a few who would prefer that the red-tailed hawks take them all, but that's another issue. Best for the hawks to keep the pigeon population in check, to keep them healthier overall, and thus not overrunning the place, at least not any worse than they already are. ;-)
This is the view from my back porch, without zoom, which gives an indication as to why I was initially unsure exactly what it was that I was seeing. The hawk is to the right of the post with the defunct satellite dish affixed to its side.
When I first noticed it, it looked as though a fawn was curled up in the grass beside the driveway, but that made no sense, as no doe would leave her fawn so exposed, with the camouflaging dappled woods so close at hand. And, as much as our resident does have made friends with Lolo, they're not stupid, and they would never trust him with their fawns.
I then thought that perhaps a red fox was curled up, but again that made no sense, as Lolo would have wasted no time in sounding the alarm. He has NOT made friends with the foxes, at all, and chases them off at every opportunity.
I was interested in that neither Lolo nor our two cats showed any interest in the hawk whatsoever. They're interested in prey; not fellow predators.
Red-tailed hawks primarily eat rodents, of which we have an abundance on our place, and so their populations are thriving here; which, despite the need to protect our ducks, chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs from them, has always pleased me. An ecosystem with a healthy raptor population is, in essence, a healthy ecosystem overall.
That said, when I spoke with my neighbor about it today, she told me that her son had spotted a red-tailed hawk landing on top of our poultry enclosure about a week and a half ago, which I've seen before as well, so I remain grateful that I had the foresight to cover the top of their enclosure.
She further said that, when they first started keeping chickens here, over twenty years ago, they lost so many to the hawks and owls that they started keeping their laying hens in a large pen in the barn, and didn't even let them out to forage. When their son started raising game chickens as a side business, he kept them in individual cages, to protect them from the local predators.
I'm still hoping that, once we have enough Muscovy ducks to risk it, we'll be able to allow at least some of them to free range in the woods, in hopes that they will keep our ticks and biting insects down to a dull roar.
I'm planning to run them with a few geese, and possibly turkeys, for added protection, as geese are highly territorial, and will go after interlopers that are far larger than they are, up to and including coyotes and bobcats. And a pissed off goose is a pretty impressive - and intimidating - beast indeed.
I've always loved Muscovies, and came to have a special affection for them when I lived in St. Petersburg, Florida, where I got a lot of pleasure watching them leading their babies through all manner of hazards to safety.
Of course, I realize that we are bound to lose a few, but Muscovies are remarkably resilient birds, and as mothers, even in hostile environments, they are remarkably good as managing to keep their brood alive and well. At least here they won't have to deal with alligators and snapping turtles.
And I would love to hear your take in the comments.
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Jeff Buckley's Music - Day 131 - Daily Haiku - Grace for Drowning, Part 4 - Humor and Running Theme
Jeff Buckley's Music - Day 130 - Daily Haiku - Grace for Drowning, Part 3
Jeff Buckley's Music - Day 129 - Daily Haiku - Grace for Drowning, Part 2
Jeff Buckley's Music - Day 128 - Daily Haiku - Grace for Drowning, Part 1
Laughter is the Best - Day 127 - Daily Haiku - and even more Comic Gems
Lovely Hummingbirds - Day 126 - Daily Haiku
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All words and images are my own, and both images were taken earlier today, with my Samsung Note 8 smart phone.
The photo of our dog, Lolo, and our late cat, Miod, I took as they were cooperatively begging at the dinner table, despite our longstanding rule of not feeding them from the table. You can see how much that deterred them both.
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