Friday, February 4, 2011

Feathered Surprise and World Cancer Day





We have seen hawk(s) in the vicinity of our yard a few times recently, but they have always been high in the trees, or swooping quickly past. Imagine our surprise yesterday when this fella was sitting on a branch just off our deck. And he surely must have been aware of Mom taking pictures through the window, yet he stayed there for quite a while, eyes watching the small birds and squirrels nearby and looking down to the snow below. Dad wasn't home, unfortunately, because he is the real "bird person" in the family, but he identified it as a "Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk" from his books. That means he is young and maybe a bit clueless (the hawk, not Dad). Mom has uploaded a bit of video of him that shows some interesting interaction with a rather cheeky squirrel.



Oh, and after I posted about spending most of my time sleeping, yesterday, it was sunny, and I was much more perky, asking Mom to let me look out the front and back door, and following her around. Maybe I got the message from the Groundhog that Spring will be early?

Edited to add:
I have just received an email from Gracie, alerting me to the fact that today is World Cancer Day. How is it that I did not know that? Praying for a cure, and lighting a candle in memory of all who have been affected by cancer.


23 comments:

  1. Wonderful pictures of the birds. How great that they are right there in your yard. Great bird-watching territory... Enjoy!!

    pawhugs, Max

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, that hawk is fabulous! Wonderful bird TV!

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's a big scary bird. I hope you stayed totally inside away from it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That is a big bird, so stay close to Mom and Dad inside.
    Kassey

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think you weren't going out cause that big bird might carry you off! Stay safe and warm!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Whew, we think that squirrel had a death wish. We have a squirrel outside our bedroom window that taunts the living daylights out of us and we wish we could just "touch" him for a minute.
    Simba, we are glad you are up and about and having a good time today. Maybe you just wanted to sleep away the cold yesterday, you think? We all deserve an extra day of naps :D
    xoxoxo

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey, we had one of those big birds on our roof the other day too. I about broke my neck trying to see it! I hope you have a purrfect weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful young hawk!

    In answer to your question about including Vidock in the Frootbat posts... we shall see what we can do but, as he says, when you're a horse, there is a fine line between Frootbats and donkey ears!

    ReplyDelete
  9. That hawk is a pleasure to see. My mommy is a Raptor fan. he would eat ME up though. Superb shot.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Don't let that hawk bird start stalking you Simba - he's got a sharp beak. We laughed at the squirrel and the hawk - it looked as though the squirrel was trying to bait the hawk to play chase!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow those are great pictures and video!!! Strange that the squirrel doesn't seem to be afraid of him. Very exciting that he was sitting so close to you.

    We have posted the candle too and pray for a cure!

    ReplyDelete
  12. That's a big birdie Simba! And that's one crazy squirrel! He must have known the hawk wasn't hungry!

    ReplyDelete
  13. That is one brave or stupid squirrel. I cannot believe that hawk didn't nail that squirrel. Great video. Guess the hawk is a little on the slow side too. Have a great evening

    ReplyDelete
  14. We have hawks and they are about the same size as the kitties. They are amazing birds.
    Happy weekend.

    purrin
    xoxoxo

    ReplyDelete
  15. That is a great video of the hawk. You have a very interesting bird TV channel.

    ReplyDelete
  16. That squirrel has more guts than brains, that's for sure!

    A young hawk got trapped in our enclosed patio just about this time last year and my human got a couple of really good photos of it - do you think your male human could ID what type it is?
    http://www.sparklecat.com/diary/chickenhawk

    ReplyDelete
  17. Holy moly!! We've never seen a hawk that close either!! Sometimes we see them waaaaay up high!! That musta been fun to see!!

    And we're purring for a cancer cure!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow, what a cool hawk! That's crazy that it got so close.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Wow !!!...That's cool Simba !!!
    Huge Massive Bird !!! He might can help you fly !!!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hmmm, maybe the two of us working together could nom that fella... hawk stew!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I always knew birds were clueless.

    ReplyDelete
  22. That is an awesome looking Hawk!!!

    ReplyDelete