In between rain showers, I heard a huge squawking on the hill next door. The other side of the hill, to be more specific. It sounded like a chicken massacre was full on. Except I figured it was a chicken orgy, which doesn't sound much different.
There they were, huddled, squawking, agitated. And then I saw why.
Perched right above them was the predator bird I've been trying to get a good shot of for weeks now. If I were one iota less observant, I'd have walked into him.
Instead, I got two awful photos before he flew away. No doubt I'm not on his list of dinner party invitees. Ah well, next time the yard birds are freaking out, I'll be a little more cautious in my approach.
Today is Mardi Gras! Fat Tuesday! Beads and masks day! Party time! For tomorrow you Lent, if that is your chosen flavor of belief. For those of us who don't Lent, we'll think of you while indulging in one or another various sinful behaviours.
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| This is not Culebra, and I'm not unhappy about that. |
The silhouette of that beak is not an awful shot.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deb. I was being ungrateful with myself! It was such a perfect opportunity and if I'd just taken a bit more time to scope out the situation...etc. etc.
DeleteWe saw a bird like that on a hike to Brava a couple of years ago. It's a type of hawk, but can't remember the name. Just call him chicken, Chicken Hawk, like the cartoon character.
ReplyDeleteHe's definitely a chicken hawk! Saw him yesterday too, but did I have my camera? No I did not.
DeleteWe spent the winter one year as a caretakers on a "summer residents only" private island off the coast of Massachusetts. It was a great experience, but the isolation could be eerie. I would walk the island every day checking on the empty cottages with my little 8 lb dog. There was one other resident, a huge hawk. He fixated on my dog and I couldn't let her get more than a few feet from my side or he would swoop her. I had to keep her leashed on what should have been a "doggy paradise" with no people and no cars. He would follow us for hours while we made our rounds. Beautiful, scary bird. Hopefully your bird has plenty of other food options and he will leave your chickens, and Cwim for that matter, alone.
ReplyDeleteKaren
That's an intense story, Karen, and definitely would have been a fly in the ointment of a paradise holiday.
DeleteAs to the hawk here, he has many food options beside my critters. For one thing, my chickens are in the coop and even the outside run is covered in wire netting. And if a dog five times her size can't scare Cwim, I feel pretty good about her self-protection mode. Pretty good, not perfectly good.