Me vs the Hawk

[ewagner]

I normally take my 2-1/2 mile exercise walk through the nature trail and back out through the local zoo and get to see a lot of wildlife but this morning was bizarre.

On the way back I saw a wild, sharp-shinned hawk perched on the fence above the enclosure for the Sandhill Cranes. To my surprise, he was swooping from one side of the fence to the other, taking a "shot" at one of the smaller cranes as he went through.

I walked over to the enclosure to see if I could frighten him off or discourage him and to my surprise, he swooped to the top of the fence directly in front of me. I was less than 4 feet away from him and he turned and faced me. I waved my arms over my head and shouted at him but he wouldn't budge. I jumped up and down and waved my arms again and this must have really pissed him off because he arched his neck, spread his wings, and opened his beak to "snarl" at me. I repeated to "threaten" him and he did the same to me. It was only when a zookeeper approached the other side of the enclosure in one of those six-wheeled "gators" did the hawk decide that he was out-manned. He flew off to the top of a large sugar maple at the edge of the enclosure. He was still there when I left.

A week ago, a sharp-shinned hawk snatched a mourning dove right off of the ground in my back yard and proceeded to eat it under the fronds of a large blue spruce in the back yard. This might be the same one working our neighborhood.

I've always known hawks (red-tails mostly) to be pretty skittish and afraid of humans in general. This one wanted to fight me for his breakfast....It was one of the most interesting experiences I've ever had with hawks.

God, I love living in Wisconsin!

[sybylla]

1. I bet that got the blood moving.

I'm really surprised you couldn't scare him off. I've never known anyone to get very close to a hawk because they are so skittish.

[ewagner]

2. That's what surprised me

I totally expected him to fly off when I walked up....

I think I'll nickname him B.A. Hawk....B.A. for BAD ATTITUDE!

[shoelace414]

3. I don't know why, but I birds of prey are just soooooooo cool to me.

[ewagner]

4. Here's the hawk

I misidentified him as a "sharpie"...when I checked the directory, I discovered that he's really a young (immature) Red-tail..the spots on the chest fooled me.... I picked the pic below because that's what he looked like when he "snarled" at me.

[StClone]

5. thanks for the Clarification

Sharp-shinned Hawks, though not whims, would have trouble taking a Mourning Dove.