Today during the Redskins debacle I chanced to look out my bathroom window and
spy a hawk perched on our fence with what looked like prey in its talons.
Further inspection showed a rodent body and a long, naked tail, so I could
confidently identify the victim as our friend the Norway Rat (Rattus
norvegicus) and feel warm thoughts toward the hawk for nailing it. I believe
the hawk is an immature Red-shouldered but will gladly accept correction on
that. As I watched it tentatively start to work on the rat, I was surprised to
see a Gray Squirrel appear and approach to within several feet of the hawk. It
wasn't clear what intent the squirrel had but I felt that it was trying to
"mess with the hawk's mind." Certainly the hawk became quite distracted and it
was a good 10 minutes or so before it actually resumed working on the rat and
beginning to consume meat, once the squirrel moved off after about 4 minutes of
hanging around. I have posted photos of the encounter on the web album link
below, and I also shot video. On the video, the squirrel can be seen
approaching to as close as 14-18 inches of the hawk, grooming itself,
scratching, etc. while within seeming striking range. We have a history of yard
squirrels exhibiting crazy behavior, so this seemed somewhat "normal" but
amazing all the same. I am going to look into putting the video up on YouTube
when I find a bit of time to experiment.
Again, please feel free to comment on the hawk ID as I'm uneasy about that.
Also I remember discussion about Red-shouldereds and squirrels on VA-Bird a
little ways back.
Finally, I have to mention that we had a Brown Thrasher on our Christmas Bird
Count in nearby Glencarlyn Park here in Arlington last year! Cheers,
???????????????? Steve Young
??? ?? ?? ?????? Glencarlyn, Arlington
http://picasaweb.google.com/Frazmo/HawkRatAndSquirrel12022007
________________________________________________________________________
More new features than ever. Check out the new AOL Mail ! -
http://o.aolcdn.com/cdn.webmail.aol.com/mailtour/aol/en-us/text.htm?ncid=aolcmp00050000000003
