When I was guiding in Idaho a few years ago, I remember watching a golden eagle strike a flying chukkar in mid-air. The eagle followed the crumpled chukkar to the ground and began to eat it. I didn't have time to watch, but I was reminded of that incident today when we came home from church. Right in front of our house, a small hawk--a coopers or sharpshin?--had knocked a mourning dove out of the air. The two birds had just landed in the street when I pulled up. I drove up next to them and looked down. The hawk cocked me a weather eye, but otherwise refused to move. As I turned to park, it carried the dove off the street in two short hops. It was obvious that it couldn't haul it away. So, despite our presence, it settled down next to Ellen's swing and began to pluck the dove. With the feathers out of the way, it ate the breast, head, and neck before settling down to rest. Altogether, it hung around for probably two hours--even with me running the chainsaw. When it was gone there were mostly just bones and feathers.http://picasaweb.google.com/aorlemann/ParowanUtah#
4 comments:
First dead bunnies and now doves. This blog is better than the show "Animals Attack!!" on the Animal Planet channel.
You're right. This blog is starting to appear a bit blood-thirsty. Let my next entry be about something a little more civilized and urban . . . like a visit to an art museum.
Hey,
I liked the hawk story. Fun to read. FYI...a coopers tail is rounded and a sharpshin is straight across.
Glad to hear you sold the house. We sold ours as well, close on the 23rd. If you think you have crap, you should see our pile.
Hey, send me your new work email. The only one I have is from your old employer. Send it to me at my work account. Congratulations on the sale.
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