Flying High!!

  Yesterday, Mark and I watched as a large bird flew overhead.  This bird was huge!  Ok, so as you probably already guessed, the camera was ever ready.  Our bird made a huge circle and then swooped low, low above us.  The only thought going through my head was the sheer magnificence of the sight before me.  Wow!  What beauty!

  The bird was a Red-tailed Hawk and was one of a pair that was circling overhead and then moved to over the Bayou.  This pair was on the hunt.  Watching them, started me thinking about hawks and other raptors.  Red-tailed Hawks have exceptional eyesight and can spy a tiny, field mouse from about 100 feet above ground.  They can swoop down, catch the mouse and be out of there in the blink of an eye.  Like all other raptors, even though they have excellent vision, they cannot move their eyes.  Raptors have to move their heads from side to side if they wish to see something other than what is in their immediate line of vision.  This is most obvious in owls who can turn their heads a full 270 degrees.  It makes me ponder if turning the head actually helps to focus???

  The Red-tailed hawk pair circled the Bayou and hillside for most of the afternoon. They were riding on the stiff south winds while hunting for their supper.  Hopefully, this pair will nest on the property and help with thinning the massive Grey Squirrel population that has been dumped in our laps by the clearing of nearby property.