Bob Ranney sent me this youtube video, showing the pursuit of a hawk for a squirrel. Although they aren't seen in the same frame and it probably is a composite, I think you will find it interesting to watch. In the end, I felt a little sorry for the hungry hawk.
On the other hand, the hawks do well in Bull Creek valley. We accidentally decapitated a wood rat during the charity timber harvest recently. It had the misfortune of creating a home in a large hollow log on the ground where we were cutting and splitting firewood. It had stuffed the log with acorns and some wood shavings for a bed. If you are squeamish or getting ready to eat, skip the pictures.
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| Home Sweet Home |
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| OUCH! But a cure for a headache. |
We staked the body out in the field with a game camera to see who would come by. The first week during the single digit temperatures there was no movement but the next week it got quite busy. First a coyote came by but apparently didn't tear it loose. The following morning, crows came in for a few minutes before a red-shouldered hawk took possession. You can see it giving the crows the stink eye.
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| Don't even think about it! |
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| Still frozen? |
I did feel a little bad about the wood rat. Unlike his relatives that eat the wiring in our barn, chewed the gas line on my tractor costing $500+, and gnawed their way into the house, this one was trying to be a good citizen a mile away in the woods - who knew they lived in the woods any more - when it heard a loud roar..... and then nothing.