Hawk on a Snowy Day

red-tailed hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
red-tailed hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
red-tailed hawk
Red-tailed Hawk

These are pictures of a red-tailed hawk behind our house. He was eating something when I first saw him. Possibly a squirrel or small bird. There was a mourning dove hanging around our feeder a lot today. There are also pigeons that congregate in our neighbor’s yard because she feeds them. Could have been one of those unfortunate fellows. The hawk ate whatever it was but must have still been hungry. He was watching those pigeons flying around as well as several other birds. He sat in the tree for maybe 10 minutes after eating. Then he couldn’t resist all the birds flying around the neighborhood and gave chase.

While he was in the tree, I hurried to get my camera out before and set up a tripod (over the kitchen sink). I clicked off 50 shots. But I had to shoot through the window and the hawk was just a little too far away, maybe 40 to 50 yards. I have a 300mm lens. But I need something bigger for that distance. Even though the camera doesn’t do him justice, the hawk was a nice sight.

Here’s the Cat

cat
Here’s the Cat

The Cat

Here’s the cat. She ran away for a few weeks back in September/October. We saw her once during that time. She bolted when she saw us. We left food out. It went untouched. While out looking for her one night, we saw a fox. Another day while hiking in the nearby woods, we saw a coyote. It made us think that there might be too many predators for a timid cat like her to survive out there.

Then one day a few weeks before we were going to be moving, I saw something out of the corner of my eye when I went into the basement. There she was! Skinny. Dirty. She must have found some opening and squirmed into the basement. I suspected it was under the porch.

When we moved, she roamed the new house for the first several nights, howling and whimpering. It must have been a confusing time for her. After a few weeks in the wild, cavorting with God only knows what kinds of derelicts, to then find herself in a strange house the smelled of unknown dogs, excessive marijuana use, and a pestiferous perfume, must have been confusing for the poor kitty.

Now she spends more time around us than she did before she ran away. She’s pesty sometimes. She makes annoying squeaky noses rather than meowing. But she’s part of the family. We’re glad she returned before we moved. If she hadn’t, we would have always wondered how she tasted to that coyote.