[birdky] Redtail Experience
- From: David Roemer <dlroemer@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: bird ky <birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2007 06:55:43 -0700 (PDT)
Yesterday while I was mowing the lawn, I enjoyed
watching one of the local juvenile redtails riding the
lift along the ridge behind my back yard. The juvs
are not too long out of the nest, and I was marveling
at how quickly they master the air.
After I finished mowing, I was weed-eating along the
fence and butterfly garden which separates my front
yard from a pasture when something caught my eye. No
more than 15 feet from where I stood was a gorgeous
juvenile redtail on the ground in the pasture with
wings partially spread, obviously mantling a kill. I
turned off and slowly put the weed-eater on the
ground, and the hawk seemed oblivious to my presence.
I then realized that I had on a cap, sunglasses,
earmuffs, and a dust filter mask while I was working.
Juvenile redtails are often not extremely wary anyway,
and having my facial features hidden, particularly the
eyes, the bird was totally unthreatened.
The first thing I thought about was making an attempt
to get my camera and return without scaring the hawk,
but decided to just savor the experience. I slowly
made my way along the fence to see how close I could
get to the hawk, and after a few minutes was within 5
or 6 feet and leaned slowly against a fence post to
enjoy the show. The feeling of being so close to
something so wild and beautiful made me wish others
were there to share the experience.
The hawk had caught a Garter Snake approximately 2
feet in lenght, and I could actually hear the meat,
skin, and bone tearing as the hawk fed. It was
constantly on the lookout, looking right past me in
all directions and only looked up at my face 3 times,
without alarm. I noticed how the crop became
distended as the bird fed. After finishing the meal,
the hawk flew to the next fence post where it cleaned
its bill for 3-4 minutes before flying to a maple tree
not far away in the pasture. The entire experience
probably lasted more than 20 minutes.
After I finished working, I got a tape measure and
measured the distance from the fence post I was
leaning on to a few tiny pieces that remained of the
snake, and the distance was 62 inches! The distance
to the next fence post where the hawk cleaned its bill
is 11 feet. Now, imagine a hawk on the floor only 5
feet from where you are and you can get an idea of the
feeling it imparted watching one wild and unrestrained
dine at that distance, it was one of the finest
outdoor experiences of my life.
David L. Roemer
Bowling Green, Ky.
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