The Gruesome Discovery

 As I was having my first mug of coffee, a clattering of Blue Jays made me aware that some predator was prowling the Bayou. I peered into the early morning darkness but nothing could be seen from the kitchen door.  Just the old tomcat, I supposed as I finished the last sip.  Nothing to be alarmed about as he was a bit too lazy to catch anything.  I glanced at the stairway just to be sure that Ms. Put was still inside.  She stretched and ambled down the step into the kitchen as if to say, "Its not me this time!"  After feeding her, I headed out the door to the pier.  Last evening, I had set the crab pots and I was in hopes of having a dozen or so fat crabs this morning.  The sun was just coming up so I had to watch my step.  I did not want to find a moccasin..the hard way.  The birds were still uneasy about something.  Now the Red-winged Blackbirds had joined the Blue Jays in their proclamations of danger.  Somewhere near a predator lurked..somewhere near another creature was in peril..I just did not know how quickly I was to discover the evidence.

The startling surprise came as soon as I stepped on the pier!  A whoosh of wings and a loud shriek scared the bejeebies out of me!  Being careful of where I was stepping, I had unwittingly walked right up on a hawk and its prey.  Obviously, this Red-shouldered Hawk had caught a Mourning Dove not long before and was using my pier as its dining table.  It was too busy eating to notice my footsteps and I was too busy watching my footsteps to notice the hawk!  When I startled it, the hawk grasped its breakfast and flew to the top of a nearby pine tree.  Only the gruesome evidence was left behind.  There on the pier was masses of feathers of what once was one of my doves!  This is the third one, to my knowledge, that the Red-shouldered Hawk has caught this month.  I have even stopped feeding the birds in the front yard as I felt as I was just fattening them up for the hawk!  Doves do not seem to be the brightest of birds as they will just squat when threatened.  If a hawk flies over, their seemingly best defense is to flatten themselves against the ground. Perhaps they think they are camouflaged enough to disappear from the hawk's vision or perhaps they panic and just freeze.  I hate to tell them but the technique is not working!  This is not a defense against the agility and strength of a hawk!  Fly..fly away, dove..do not squat there waiting to be eaten!  I have seen this Red-shouldered Hawk fly in before daybreak.  It sits in a large hickory tree waiting until the birds gather for breakfast and then swoops down to grasp its chosen target.  Usually, it will then fly off to some treetop to devour its meal.  This time, however, the pier served as its feasting place. I am not sure how to rectify the problem of the hawk dining on my yard birds but something has to be done!  Since I am so against killing off any of the birds..hawks included..perhaps I will have to devise a more secure feeding area for the yard birds.  (Just a note..it is illegal to kill a bird of prey..so don't do it!) ....Or maybe I could just have survival classes for the doves!