First I heard the hawks in the neighborhood, then spotted two sitting on housetops on the route Sassy and I walk each morning. They screeched back and forth in an eerie call that made me think they were talking about us.
The next day, the two had moved up a block, still on our walk route, and shared perches on a house’s antenna (like a TV antenna). Still, they sat, screeching at other.
I heard them in the neighborhood the next day and saw them circling nearby but not overhead. Still, they’re scary. Big hawks. Really big.
Today, when Sassy and I were a block away from our yard, I heard the screeching and looked up. There were three. Three big ones. Circling about where our house was. We continued our walk around the block. The noise stopped. The birds disappeared.
As we crossed the front yard and approached our gate, I glanced up and saw one hawk sitting on the rear corner of our garage. Watching us.
I hurried Sassy into the yard but did not take off her harness and leash. I shut the gate and turned around, and saw a second hawk, sitting on the fence by my tomato plants. After pushing Sassy inside, I stood at the door and watched the birds watching me.
The long view with one hawk on the fence and one circling overhead (the tiny dot at top left)
My hubby came down the stairs and grabbed his phone to take pictures. Hopefully his video of one taking flight will turn out. If so, we’ll post it later today. He had to leave then, so I fired up my tablet and went outside (without Sassy) to see how close I could get to the hawk on the fence. I started taking photos from a distance and kept moving closer. Beautiful bird.
The one on the fence wouldn’t leave. A little later I took Sassy back outside with the harness and leash to walk around the yard. The screeching started up again, but it wasn’t the bird on the fence. It was a second hawk clear up on a tall tree at the corner of our neighbor’s lawn.
I’m not sure of my identification of these hawks, so I don’t know if they prefer grasshoppers or prairie dogs, but they’re big enough to think that Sassy might be a prairie dog of unusual color and size. Now Sassy is about 22 pounds, so they’d have a hard time getting the dog off the ground. Even so, sharp talons could do serious damage if they tried. And if these are young red-tailed hawks, they might now know what they’re doing yet. Which could also explain why they’re hanging out in a residential area instead of heading for one of the nearby natural areas where the prairie dogs live.
Sassy and I have been inside for quite awhile now, so I went to the window to check on the hawks. They’re gone. It’s quiet outside. No screeching in the distance. No big birds soaring overhead.
The last time I reported on strange flying creatures in our yard, it was a pair of wild ducks. What next?
You’re wise to be concerned about Sassy, Pat. I live out of town on an acre of land surrounded by farm fields, so hawks are regular visitors. This year I had one with babies in one of the many trees in my yard, and when I went out to mow the lawn, she got very protective and actually dove at me screeching several times–got close enough I had to have something in my hand to fend her off. She apparently thought the loud lawnmower was quite threatening! We’ve had the occasional news story of someone in the area getting a nasty wound on the head from one, and definitely of hawks going after little dogs. Most don’t but it’s good to be wary. They are very beautiful.
Good to know, Colleen — just their size had me convinced I’d best be cautious. I was dive-bombed by a fierce bluejay once, and even that hurt! 😀
I once worked briefly at a raptor rescue center doing tough stuff like cleaning out cages and cutting up mice for food. I discovered, even after training, that I was afraid of the big birds, even the owls. Still, they are so beautiful to see, especially in the wild.
If you have had no field mice, perhaps the birds were doing their job. Still, it’s spooky that they are watching and talking to each other. After The Birds, try not to watch or read scary.
Hi Liz! Maybe so! Anyway, it appears the hawks have moved on. I heard no screeching this morning and did not see them on our walk. I’m convinced they were youngsters in spite of their size and just getting accustomed to being out of their nest. By now they’re probably hanging out at one of our natural areas where there’s a huge supply of small rodents.
Oh, this feels very Stephen-King-like – ominous and spooky! (Sorry, can’t help myself. It’s how my mind works. :))
Good morning, Madeline! My mind works that way too.. I couldn’t stop thinking of The Birds movie. If one more hawk had shown up, I would have freaked out. 😀
We have hawks that look really similar. They don’t go after much bigger than a mouse though. At the same time, I wouldn’t let our cat Rocket out when one was around.
Hi Diane! I was a little spooked to have two so close in the yard. I think mornings and dusk are the normal feeding times for birds of prey, so I’m watching to see if they come back. We don’t have any bunnies and haven’t had a field mouse in the garage in years, so I can only think they’re looking at neighborhood pets.
Wow! I share your concern for Sassy’s safety. Our four pound Maltese would be easy prey for a large hawk or eagle. I saw a video of an eagle picking up a child and lifting it a few feet off the ground, so they are capable of carrying away a heavy load.. My bigger worry is taking either of our dogs out at night when owls are hunting and the hunter is silent and difficult to see.
It was worrisome, especially with two of them eyeing us in the back yard. I’m a little worried that the two outdoor cats that belong to neighbors have not been seen lately. I wish folks wouldn’t let their cats roam. It’s a jungle (so to speak) out there.