“A red-tailed hawk rose high on an air current,
calling out shrill, sequential rasps of raptor joy.”
Barbara Kingsolver
For the past few weeks I’ve experienced an unusual bird sighting here by the ocean. Unusual because seeing one of these birds by the ocean is rare. I would see red-tailed hawks daily on my trail rides with my horse Jimmy, but never at the beach.
I mentioned my sighting to my husband and he thought that a red-tailed hawk was not likely to be at the beach. I agreed with him, but I also told him that we haven’t seen one pigeon on our patio lately and that these hawks hunted the pigeons at the barn. My husband hates the pigeons, so he was hoping I was right.
After days of watching our new neighbor, the red-tailed hawk, I was able to get some video and still images of him perched on the light post outside our patio. My husband was pleasantly surprised to see the images and extremely glad that the hawk was hunting our pesky neighborhood pigeons.
The hawk usually comes by everyday around 5 or 6 in the evening. Magnificent to watch as he catches the ocean breeze and hovers without flapping, eyes fixed on the ground over the beach waiting to spring on any unlikely prey. I spring into action to capture images of him hovering in front of our patio.
The other thing I noticed since the hawk arrived in our neighborhood is that the Great Horned Owl that I would hear in the evening can no longer be heard. Red-Tailed Hawks are extremely territorial and will often chase away Great Horned Owls.
If you follow my blog you might remember my post about the owl on our roof, Hooting in the House. That post was about our new unusual neighbor the owl. Now we have a new and more powerful neighbor to keep our eyes on, our red-tailed hawk.
Shine On
I got a few photos of a hawk on my back porch a few years ago. I’m not sure what kind it was. There are red-tailed hawks around here, but it wasn’t one of those. The hawk returned one more time, about a week later…and then I never saw it again.
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Our Red-Tailed hawk keeps returning even though the crows and seagulls dive-bomb him daily.
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I think the hawk that was standing on my porch railing was either looking for something to eat down in the grass below. For whatever reason, the hawk didn’t fly away immediately when it saw me. Actually, I didn’t realize that the hawk knew that I was behind it, until it turned its head all the way around and stared me right in the eyes. The intensity of the hawk’s eyes scared me a little!
storieswithnobooks.com/2013/06/24/the-hawk-stands-with-no-fear/
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Really interesting post! Nature is so amazing and wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
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Birds of prey are intruiging. We have red kites and buzzards all around. It is stunning to see them soaring in circles. That’s why I love your profile picture so much. 🙂
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Erika, thanks for the kind comments.
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And thanks for not mentioning the typo… lol.
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Don’t you just love when nature decides to pay a little visit on your particular door step? He/she is beautiful! 🙂
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I’m in awe of nature and all it’s creatures. So when something as beautiful as a hawk lands near me or is seen by me, I’m just blown away. Thanks for reading and following my blog Belinda.
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I’m ashamed to say I lost track of you for a while! It must be the time zone thing! I remember originally following you because of your horse connection! Love all my fur babies…they are the soul of this earth and I am totally addicted to my horse babies smell! 🙂
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Glad to have you back following along. I miss my horse Jimmy so much. I miss Jimmy’s breath when he would put his head on my shoulder whenever I had my back to him. I miss his soft smooth coat and mane. You’re so fortunate to have horses in your life. After losing Jimmy, I just can’t bear to have my heart broken again, so after over 50 years of riding I stopped. Jimmy was the best of the best and can’t image at this age finding a replacement for him.
Shine On
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I totally understand this. They say you find true love with one horse. It’s a connection like no other. He is always in your heart, taking up a very part of it 🙂
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Wow, interesting post and awesome shot, Julie!❤️
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Thanks Laura. Just wish I had a longer lens to get a real close-up shot of him.
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Maybe the camera fairy will make a visit! 😉💛👏⭐️🌚
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Laura, I like the way you think.
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