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As I was reading in the living room the other day, Lord Dudley Mountcatten went running to the window.
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It seems we had a visitor on the deck railing.
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A Sharp Shinned Hawk.
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He’s a beauty and hunts our backyard quite often.
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Though sadly never when Momma Red is scurrying around.
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❤️
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We’ve had a beautiful bird of prey hunting around our property lately and I’m damned if I can identify him.
He’s a good size, pale feathered with black wing tips, and has been hard as hell to photograph because he flies very quickly.
I thought it might be an Osprey but there’s not enough brown.
I thought it was a juvenile red tail hawk, but it’s still too light in color.
These are the best shots I’ve managed so far, taken across the road on our neighbors farm.
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He skims the ground quite low.
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I’m sure it’s good mousing over there.
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Anyone have an idea who he is?
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We just had a deck railing visitor.
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He’s a juvenile hawk who’s realized our bird feeders are prime hunting ground… and doves are quite tasty.
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten was less than pleased…
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We have a young Coopers hawk who enjoys using our backyard bird feeders as a training ground for hunting. He’s not very adept at capture yet, but he sure does give it the old college try.
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He also drives Lord Dudley Mountcatten completely insane. The poor feline is confused. It’s a bird, so he’s fascinated. But it’s a predator, so he’s scared.
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It’s only a matter of time before blood and feathers will be scattered on the ground.
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And while that’s hard to take….
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Hawks really are beautiful creatures.
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And deserve to eat just like the rest of us.
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A few more pictures from my camera last month.
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Look at this beautiful juvenile red tail hawk.
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Just hanging out on the bird feeder pole waiting for lunch to drop in.
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We see him cruising over the property now and then…
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But he rarely perches so close to the house for an extended period of time.
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Heck, he was even comfortable enough to take a bath.
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They really are spectacular creatures.
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Thanks for dropping by big guy.
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And if you happen to see a mangy little red squirrel wandering the roof line?
Please don’t miss.
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Mother and Bambi are chowing down regularly and trying to lay on extra winter pounds.
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But sadly I was right about the blue eyes fading. Once this little one grows up we won’t be able to distinguish him/her so easily.
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But look who’s made our backyard his new hunting ground….
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A juvenile Coopers Hawk.
He perches on the bird feeder pole and waits patiently for lunch to drop in.
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I got excited when I saw this:
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And was seriously hoping mother red squirrel had met her doom…
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But unfortunately it was a dove.
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Better luck next time guy.
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And it’s always bad at Casa River.
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Yesterday morning I saw that rat bastard red squirrel.
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She was running all over our roof and gutter probably looking for a way back into the house.
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I chased her off with the broom, but 10 minutes later she was back. She hung around for another half hour or so and for once….
I wish she’d stayed a little longer.
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Well, hello there.
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Your timing was awful, but please come back another day.
I have multiple squirrel recipes to share.
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River's world..... 