A Hawk Eating Its Prey

I gave clues. I even openly mentioned that it was near. But I didn't come right out and say that a hawk had come down into the forest and actually caught something... Until now!

I was hearing the hawk all day while I was at the nature park. I wondered if I would get more than a glimpse. I even told a few other people that I met that the calls they were hearing were from a hawk. But I never believed I would have the opportunity to get pictures.

While I was almost out of the park I saw a huge bird fly up from the ground. At first glance I thought it was a great blue heron because of its huge size, but I quickly realized that it was a red-tailed hawk. And it had something in its talons. It had captured another animal.

The huge size made it look as if the wings were flapping in slow motion as it rose from the ground. But then the bird quickly landed in a high branch of a big tree. What I thought I had lost in my haste to get a picture was now a new opportunity.

I quickly began taking as many pictures as I could as the huge predator began devouring its meal. The bird had been much closer to the forest than I realized before, and now I realized why all the other animals were staying so close to the forest floor that day. I thought they were being overly nervous, but they knew that this monster was coming for them.

And what poor innocent creature did the huge flying beast finally capture and make into its meal? Its prey this time turned out to be a garter snake. A garter snake is one of the most harmless creatures out here. It's also a predator, but sometimes even chipmunks are predators. Poor creature. But then again a hawk has to eat too.

This last picture is not quite adequate to show it, but this is closer to what my eyes saw when I looked towards the bird. The camera sees much better than I can. I'm glad I had it with me to share this exciting event. There were many more pictures, but I like these the best.

No further pictures can capture my excitement and wonder, but my words can help. I get excited with the smallest sighting, but this was something extraordinary for me. To see a bird like this in flight is wonderful, but to see it this close is something special. This is one reason why I love nature so much.


Nature Center Magazine - Your starting place for nature! We just finished the video documentary on the amazing intelligence of crows. If you didn't see it then you missed something great. Today we bring you our favorite nature site for this week. Take a look.