We have one less squirrel in our front yard, and the hawk who we see often has his Thanksgiving day dinner. We usually see the hawks way up in the sky, and never very close, but this one came down and caught the squirrel right in front of the house and then landed on the lawn. He just sat there for a while, we were wondering if he had somehow hurt himself; but did get some pictures of him sitting there before he flew off with the squirrel dangling from his talons.
It is probably mustering up the strength to carry dinner home. A squirrel fell from the tree in the backyard. It sounded like a big rock when it landed. It was stunned but then skurried up the tree.
I've seen the remains of a rabbit in the yard and either a hawk or an owl consumed it on the spot, and all that was left was the head and feet. Another time I saw a hawk consume some other bird and all that was left was feathers. They don't mess around.
I love my hawks. They are such cool birds. I see them in the trees around my house scanning the open field, but have yet to see a kill. The squirrels know better than to leave the woods.
A few years ago, I heard the most violent screeches outside. I went out and looked up and there were two hawks way up in the air going at each other, with a third circling higher up. I assume it was a mating fight. They were not being gentle with each other. It went on for the longest time. It's funny, the squirrels on my place never come out into the open areas (I think due to the hawks), but the rabbits aren't that smart. I walk right up on them in the yard and driveway, and they just sit there...if I had a brick, I'd have dinner. I don't know why I don't see hawks get them, or at least see the remnants that you've seen.
I was sitting on the porch when it happened. The hawk actually got the squirrel whilst it was on a limb. They thrashed for a bit and both hit the ground with the squirrel in the hawks grasp. The bird must have stood there for a good 15 minutes looking around rather nonchalantly like saying “what squirrel, I don’t see no squirrel”. After about 5 or so minutes of it though, I went in and got Yvonne shushing her all the way to the door thinking that the hawk would fly away before she saw it. Nope. Even after she came out, the bird still just stood there and when I raised my voice to see if it would fly away, again, nope. When I walked out there and was within about 3 or 4 feet from him/her it still acted like that spot was just a regular place for a hawk to be until it got ready to go. Spectacular birds!
I've noticed a very odd thing here in my area. There will be hawks sitting on utility wires all up & down the side streets and the busy highways, just watching the cars go by. A friend hit one when it apparently saw a critter and launched itself in front of his vehicle. But back where I am,with nothing around me, they will be in a tree at the far end of the field and see me way off inside my house walking 6' behind the patio door just passing to the other room, and they spook.
I think that this could be because animals and birds who are out in the country are much more likely to be shot than animals that are closer to town. This same thing seems to be true with coyotes. The country coyotes are seriously afraid of people , but the ones that have moved into the cities are not afraid of people at all, because nothing happens to them in the middle of town. In Idaho, the government has released wolves, which are killing off the deer, elk, and even moose; so these poor creatures have moved into town, and it is not unusual for people to have a full-grown moose wandering through the yard, and munching the shrubbery (bushes?). You can see that these moose are right in the middle of town, and have no fear of anything; happily window-shopping maybe ?
Yeh, I hate to think of anyone shooting a hawk. Besides, it's illegal. But that's a good point. Coyote has started moving in here. Just like the hawk, it was at the way far end of the field and saw me behind the patio door, and it ran away. There have been lots of stories of "government [doesn't] know best." I believe a judge out west ruled that wolves that had been released in a neighboring state magically became a different [unique/protected] species when they crossed that geopolitical boundary.
It is a difficult thing, @John Brunner , especially for the farmer, or other person living in the country with animals. If hawks are eating your chickens, or grabbing kittens and even small dogs; then you will probably shoot at one if you see it looking like it is going to kill one of your chickens or pets. When I lived in Idaho, I lost a little dog to what was probably a coyote, and it disappeared right out of the yard. Eventually, I found the collar out in the weeds under the power line; so I know that the coyote (or even an eagle ?) must have gotten the poor little fellow. I never shot any coyotes; but I did make sure that my dogs were inside by sundown, and only outside when I was there with them. People think it is a shame if someone kills a wolf, or even a coyote, but those animals are predators and will rip apart a sheep, goat, calf, and even a deer, and then eat it alive.
Yup. Agreed. I would never shoot a fox unless I had chickens and I had to do what needed to be done. I completely get it. Funny that my emotional attachment to a coyote is way less than it is to a fox or a hawk or to any other critter. Must be bad PR, huh?
Our restaurant in N. Idaho was on the edge of some woods and at one time, we had a bear that wouldn’t come out but we knew it was trying to get up the courage to approach the back of the place. One day the head (or chief I guess) of the Kootenai Indian tribe council was at the restaurant and he was talking about going hunting so I mentioned the bear. He quickly told me that a bear was off limits because that was his spirit guide. Long story short, the bear did disappear and just about the same time frame when I talked to the chief. Funny how things happen.
Speaking of hawks: I was hired to take down a dying tree, in a client's front yard. As I climbed to the top, this Red-tailed hawk kept swooping into trees around me, watching me closely. When I reached the top, I saw a large clump of branches bunched together. I carefully started removing them, twig by twig. Suddenly, a head, the size of a tennis ball, appeared before me, Jack in the box style. It looked like a "normal" baby bird head, but enormous. It kind of freaked me out, in truth. Of course I climbed down, informed the client that the tree needed to stay until the baby bird fledged, and watched as mom flew back to the nest. Two months later, I removed the tree.