I came home yesterday and a big old hawk was sitting in my back yard. My car scared him into a tree. I walked down to where he had been to see if he had made a kill, but found nothing.
He was in a tree this morning when I went for my walk.
And in my neighbor’s yard when I came home.
And the tree rat population seems to be thinning. I used to see several in both the front and back yards. Now I see one or two a day.
I wish I had a nice camera so I could get a pic. He is really a pretty bird.
Heh…a hawk dared to attack a squirrel in my mother’s yard once. This was not wise. My mother loves animals, has bird feeders, humming bird feeders, bird baths, feeds wandering rabbits, possums, etc. When she saw the bird trying to score a meal, she grabbed her trusty broom and charged, shrieking and flailing with vigor. Now my mother is 63, and not 'zactly an Olympic sprinter, but she was also good and mad. Hawk fled, and hasn’t been back. The squirrel was slighty worse for wear, but survived. Hell hath no fury like a 110 pound redheaded senior citzen with a broom.
Thought you said she loves animals and has bird feeders, eh? 
I loved mine when it was around. I’m so pissed it wandered off, because now the squirrels get all my pecans.
A red tailed hawk was on a dead tree over one of the garden fish pools every day when I came home. I removed the tree, and still see him once and a while. Everyone’s just trying to make a living, be they hawks, squirrels or goldfish.
::gasping::
So your mother’s an anti-raptorist? And here I thought you came from decent stock, Oak!
Heh.
But then–it’s a bird, too! All birds gotta eat.
I saw a sparrow hawk outside my old workplace one day. There were always lots and lots of little birds about. The day the sparrow hawk was there, it was the only bird around…
A couple years ago one took up residence in my yard. It was the dreaded Coops, and every morning things got interesting at the feeder. I saw a dove, in desperation, whip around a tree and the hawk whip around the tree right after it. I also saw one go through several branches at a high rate of speed on my apricot tree as it pursued another unfortunate dove. After a while I noticed the hawk would arrive roughly about 7:25 AM so I made sure to wake early to be on time for the show. Sure enough, at 7:25, somewhere amongst the bird population, the alarm would sound and all the doves and finches would scatter and the entire neighborhood would go silent–nothing, no matter how territorial it was, dared sing anymore–and I’d run to the window and see the hawk go by, hot on the tail of its latest prey. Once, after watching a chase, I had such a rapid heart rate I thought I would have to get a Xanax.
There, there sweetie. The big birds do not eat peoples. You’re safe.
Nice to see Dick Cheney helping out on the campaign trail, going door to door, even if he only gets to a couple of homes per day.
I’ve watched a sparrow hawk squeeze a great tit lifeless before munching it, in my front yard. A magnificent sight.
The most radical mastectomy of all.
I once saw a redtail hawk gutting a squirrel just off the edge of the 15th fairway on the Rancho Park golf course in the middle of urban Los Angeles. I’ve also seen some peregrine falcons soaring above Century City. I’m glad they’re so adaptable - such gorgeous animals.
There is a pair of sharpies living in my neighborhood. I love it when I catch glimpses of them. Last year, I was extraordinarily lucky to see them perched side by side on a telephone wire. If only I’d had my camera with me.
Way cool that you’ve got a hawk hanging out, Khadaji
You can tell by the blank stares and the permanent stains under their noses.
I’ve seen a red-shouldered hawk in a neighborhood a few blocks from my home. It’s a residential area but there’s also a large warehouse type facility near where he hangs out. I’m think it must be popular with rodents.
I rode along with someone else over the Skyway bridge Friday and was happy to see numerous Ospreys, there was one on top of almost every light pole leading up to the bridge. I saw one take off after something but some trees blocked my view so I didn’t get to see if he caught anything.
Love them raptors! They have to eat, too, and there’s no shortage of doves and squirrels.
Back when I was at Villanova, there was a mated pair of hawks who lived somewhere on campus. I don’t know exactly what kind they were, beyond the fact that they were really big. Once, I saw one of them hunting a squirrel branch-to-branch in a tree in front of the student union: The squirrel would dart out of reach and do his best impression of an pinecone, until the hawk came charging after him, and so continue. Most of the crowd that inevitably assembled was rooting for the squirrel, but not me: On a successful hunt, we would have lost about .001% of our squirrel population, but a few unsuccessful hunts in a row would have lost us 50% of our hawk population.
I had a dream last night that the hawk was screeching (or whatever noise it is hawks make.) It was a very rhythmic pattern. When I awoke I realized it was just a cricket.
PSA for Bay Area Dopers: the raptor migration is happening now…get yourself over to the Marin Headlands (Hawk Hill, to be specific) if you want to witness one of nature’s special events.
Damn hawk got one of my wife’s favorite chickens just last week. He’s been lurking about for quite some time, but this is his first chicken.
Where I used to live it was a common thing to see widespread scattered pigeon feathers and the occasional gory wing on the ground in the alleyway. I had my suspicions and they were confirmed when we came home late one night and saw a great big barn owl perched on the telephone wire above the alley. He didn’t like the wings, I guess.