- I was driving home, passing through a busy intersection. A pigeon swooped erratically in front of me, then smashed into the side of a cab going the other way. As my brain started to formulate the question, "What the h...?" I saw a hawk1 swoop in to scoop it up off the pavement, and I realized its wild flight had been a desperate (and failed) attempt to escape. Oh. Dang!
- There's been some sort of hawk hanging out around my office. I see it regularly fly past and hang out in nearby trees. We're on the third floor, and it sometimes flies below our windows. Cool to see its vivid top-side markings.
- I saw a bald eagle twice in one day (again at work), drifting along the edge of Lake Pontchartrain.
- The other day, I was biking through my neighborhood and was startled to see a big ol' hawk sitting on nearby fence, literally about ten feet away, the closest I've ever been to such a creature. It had some large cricket-like munchy in its beak. I skidded to a halt and tried to snap a photo, but it flew off and landed some distance away, to nosh its bug-treat in peace.
1 I say "hawk". I can't really definitively distinguish between the various flavors of hawk/falcon/etc. down here. Definitely a big bird of prey. Let's just say "hawk" is close enough.
Interesting nature tidbits.
ReplyDeleteLots of good bird sightings!! We see lots of same here in the NW. They certainly are odd creatures, and I like your descriptions.
ReplyDeleteThanks, btw, for visiting my blog :)
Happy New Year!