When I sit on the couch and read, I have a view out the window into the back yard. I glance up and watch squirrels play and eat, birds taking turns in the home made bird bath, and rabbits munching grass. It is tranquil and serene.
Until a hawk wants lunch. I looked up to see a young rabbit running as fast as he could, across the back yard. I thought, wow, that little guy can run! Wonder who is chasing him. Just as I was saying "wonder..." a hawk flew into view, talons at the ready.
The rabbit made it to the side of the garage and zipped into the habitat James made for the rabbits. The hawk stopped short of hitting the side of the garage, flapped his wings to change course, and turned around mid air and flew to the clothesline pole, a few feet from the habitat. Can you see the hawk:? I took this picture through the window. The window was open so it was two glass windows. Darn. Not a sharp picture. The hawk waited awhile, then flew to the nearby tree.
Pandemonium broke out in the tree. Birds of all kinds were shrieking at the hawk. Flying into his face and trying to get him to leave. Squirrels were running up fairly close and trying to lure the hawk away. Maybe there were nests in that area. I walked outside with my camera and tried to get a picture.
In the meantime, it was a couple hours before the rabbit came out of the habitat. He stayed close, within a couple feet of the opening to the habitat. He ate grass and kept an eye out for the hawk. A blue jay flew over him and he panicked until he realized it was a blue jay. Whew.
This is my first experience living in a place that allows me to see nature up close. I can tell one squirrel from another and some of the rabbits too. If the hawk had swooped up his lunch right in front of me, I would have been happy for the hawk, even though I love watching the rabbits. That is the way of nature.
27 comments:
nice post :P
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As much as I love nature, there are still things I hate to witness.
It's a fine view of the hawk, especially considering your window limitations.
I've learned that you can be witness to an awful lot of events in nature if you simply stop and become part of the scene. And hard as it may be to see a lovely rabbit or young bird get caught up by a bird of prey, that is indeed the way of nature. Hawks have to eat too.
Thanks for sharing this peek into your day.
It is hard to watch, isn't it? It's the tearing apart that gets me, but you're right. It's the circle of life. Glad you didn't see it happen though.
Glad the bunny got away. Phew!
Maggie X
Nuts in May
Sylar, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
Ms.A, same here, but I know that is the way it is. And I truly admire the hawk. And love the bunnies.
Hilary, thank you for your encouragement with my photographic attempts. You are the nature photographer I want to be when I grow up.
blueviolet, circle of life indeed. I grew up around animals so I have an understanding beyond my emotional preferences. I am glad I didn't see the hawk catch the bunny but I probably will witness just that in the future.
On one level, I yield to the laws of nature and have to accept that the food chain exists and I can't change it. However, I don't like to watch it in progress because I don't like to confront the kind of violence it involves. On a social level, it seems to me that the world of humans is unnecessarily violent without the excuse of the laws of nature. Some seem to have become de-sensitized to violence. It disturbs me to see riots and flash mobs because they are being nasty because they can, not because they need to hunt for food as a hawk does. Hawks are beautiful creatures, but not when they eat.
I watched that happen with a hawk and a mourning dove in my yard. Sad for the dove, but I do recognize it as the natural order of things.
great hawk shot! but I am rooting for Thumper!
I have hawks, too, who show up occasionally to see if there might be a tasty snack at my bird feeders. I was upset at first, but now I realize it's what you say: the way of nature. They are beautiful raptors who deserve to live, too. Thanks for the great story of a wildlife adventure.
wow who needs the nature channel...intense...we have a lot of animals that come around...birds, squirrels a family of deer that live in our back lot...have never seen a hawk here hunting, but know it happens...
Love nature, but there are areas where I would like the Disney version, please.
Whoa, that's a lot of life and death going on right there in your very own backyard. Those are the types of scenes that give a nature lover pause. I guess if you grow up with it, it's easier to take philosophically. It's a good thing the rabbit had Jame's habitat to save its life!
Quite an adventure. Great you got a couple of shots of the hawk and I could see it very well. By right clicking your photos I got a closer look. Glad the rabbit escaped and that hawk was not a popular chap was he? Nature is very cruel but the hawk must eat to live and cannot be a vegitarian. Cheers ~ Eddie
So wonderful, yet hard to watch nature at work like that. My daughter sent me pics of the hawk that swooped under her porch after a chipmunk, and came out with it in its talons. It was one big hawk. Little Chip never had a chance.
She keeps the chihuahua in the house now.
You are very lucky that you get to see nature up close! Lately we haven't had many small animals around so maybe we have a hawk. I'll have to check things out!
I guess I'm happy for the rabbit, but I can't blame the hawk for being a hawk.
I adore watching hawks. They are truly majestic.
We are watching the Bald Eagles here in Maine. Majestic!
Rosemary
So true. Nature seems cruel at times, but it's that necessary cycle of life and death. I love when you spy real life adventures going on around you. I'm glad you captured the moment, TechnoBabe. There are a pair of Cooper's Hawks in our neighborhood...there are times when the air rains feathers...
Your last comment reminds me of Jerry Seinfeld talking about watching nature shows on television. He said that if the show was about a gazelle, and it was being chased by a lion, he rooted for the gazelle to get away. If the show was about lions, however, he felt obliged to root for the lion to catch the gazelle!
I love the photos. We have a lot of lizards and even quail here where I live. I do enjoy watching them sometimes when they don't know they're being watched.
I asked my hubby to put up another bird feeder on the deck this year. I wanted to see the birds up close instead of trying to get a view all the way out to the back fence.
What an amazing scene you witnessed today. Hawks always seem so majestic, but I would have had a hard time seeing the bunny get captured.
My son's soccer team was The Hawks. Their cheer was "The sun shines on the Hawks." Now, every time I see a Hawk I'm tempted to shout out, "The sun shines on you!." Good picture. Certainly CAN see the hawk.
Wow...I've seen a few Hawks flying around NYC, and they keep their nests on the skyscrapers, but I never saw one finding his food which would probably consist of a rat instead of a rabbit...sounds like a brilliant environment to be in, so different than mine. Great pics.
That's a very National Geographic-esque life you've got! I hope the rabbits weren't too shaken up, but I know they can let go of things like that a lot quicker than people can...
Cheers,
Arnab Majumdar on SribbleFest.com
I am glad that the rabbit got away. I realize how cruel Nature can be.
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