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Monday, May 7, 2012

RAINY DAY RUCKUS: Crows & the Hawk

photos by Jonathan Schechter  5/7/2012

Light rain was falling. I could hear the ruckus of crows from inside my house. When crows speak loudly  they have a message. And the message is usually an alarm call to warn their brethren that a threat is about.  In Brandon Township that threat can be a human; but they never alarm for me.
They know me. 
But most of the time the loud ruckus means they have detected a hawk, an owl, a cat or fox. 
And I believe their warning is as much a case of crow harassment, perhaps for the excitement of their venture and the social gathering as it is a true warning of danger. 
 I grabbed my camera and slipped and slid my way across my rain-soaked meadow.
One look through the zoom lens of the camera exposed the secret. My friend, the red-tailed hawk had been detected. Look closely at the top picture. The shape in the right hand corner is the hawk.
And the photo below from a slightly different angle shows the soggy red-tail in the same tree.
The dance of nature is endless and beautiful and the hawk and the crows know the rules.



1 comment:

  1. You notice and can interpret so much! It is amazing.

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