The other day while I was out taking pictures of the new landscaping I saw our newest wildlife adoptee.

A few weeks ago I started hearing the strangest noise every time I was outside. It sounded like a screaming child. It was constant, loud and lasted all day long. I had no idea what it was. At first I thought it was indeed a child. Then I thought it was a cat or rabbit in pain. Then I remembered I’d actually heard a rabbit screaming once and it wasn’t like this, the rabbit was far worse.

Days went by and when ever I was outside I would hear the….crying, screaming, or whatever it was. I’d wonder around the yard and try to find the source, but to no avail. It always came from different places.

Then one day about a week ago I was outside and it was the loudest it had ever been. “Enough” I thought to myself, I have to figure out what this thing is. I stood there in the driveway scanning the trees very carefully, it had to be close it was so loud. Then suddenly I saw it. It jumped out of the tree and flew gracefully by me an up into one of the neighbor’s dead trees. It was a hawk. A very large hawk. I went and got Traci to come see it and it flew off across the street and up into one of the huge trees there, at least 70-80′ up. It was screeching the entire time. And it was being answered by another screech. There were two of them and they lived nearby.

I thought this was pretty neat and was happy that I know at least knew what the loud crying was. I wondered, and still do, if the two hawks are a mating pair and have a nest nearby with some young ones in it. Maybe that is why they have been screeching up a storm, warning things away from them?? I need to research hawks a bit I guess.

Back to the landscaping; I’m out taking pictures and there on a wood pile in the neighbors yard is the hawk. It was just sitting there on the wood pile looking around. I took some pictures of it and approached slowly. Eventually it flew off and landed on the roof of the neighbor’s house.

Tonight as we pulled up to the house there was a Lexus blocking the driveway looking at our house. I figured they were looking at the landscaping until Traci said “no, the hawk.” Sure enough there in the yard was the hawk. I pulled in the driveway and drove slowly up to it and stopped next to it and rolled down my window. It was just standing there looking around, about 8′ from me. I’d never been this close to a wild hawk before. It is a beautiful bird, powerful looking and very large, at least 18″ tall, maybe more. It looked at me a few times and then flew off into the woods and landed on a small tree.

I pulled into the garage, parked and ran to get my camera. I only had my 2mp camera as the 4mp with zoom is on loan to Bob. When I got back outside it was still in the tree. I took some pictures of it and then suddenly it leapt off the branch and flew to the side of the house, made a sharp 180 degree turn and landed. I ran over to see what it was doing. It was just standing there near the AC units. So I took some more pictures.

Traci came out and took the camera and started approaching it slowly and taking more pictures. It reached down and pulled at something a few times and then came up with a mole! It was hunting our dreaded mole army! The same army that had been running unchecked through our mulch beds devouring roots and killing things off. The hawk is a true champion of the mulch beds! Traci took more pictures of it and it finally gulped down the mole. Hurray!!

Then it flew into a nearby tree and I took more pictures off it. Finally it had enough of me and flew off to land on the roof and then off to hunt some more.

It is a beautiful bird and amazing to watch. Even just standing there it radiates a gracefulness and sense of purpose that is quite intense. When it stretches it’s wings and flies it is amazing. It is welcome to hunt our mole army any time.

I took so many pictures of it that I put them up on their own area. Follow the link.