Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Add possum to the list...

Squirrels and rabbits and mice and chipmunks and now… possum!

2012.10 - Dead possum in the middle of the yard

I got a shovel, picked it up and started toward the fence to toss it over into the weeds only to realize that it is way too heavy to hoist it over a 5 foot fence.  Put it down, step away and Jake comes over – not to get it but just because I’m there. I said: “Jake, what should I do?”  As I was waiting for an answer it was unusually quiet and I heard a strange noise almost like a clicking.  Again, I asked Jake: “What’s that?”  As I turned toward the house, down swooped Mr. Hawk thinking, I suppose, I had just provided him with a free dinner!  Jake did his normal chase and Hawk flew away.  After texting my friend Angie (who was the recipient of these lovely pictures) I found out that hawks DO eat dead animals…  I didn’t know that – thought they just caught their prey and ate it.  Maybe Jake and Hawk should partner up since he likes to catch and kill things and doesn’t eat them (thank god) and Hawk will eat what he kills!

Here is some interesting info about the Red Tailed Hawk with sound…..yes, it is the sound we heard. 

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology All About Birds – Red Tailed Hawk

I