17 Comments

Always a pleasure to read about how you observe the interplay between species and even use it as a foundation for encounters!

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Thanks James. This one was certainly unexpected, but again, thanks to the small birds giving alarm calls, I was fortunate to see and spend a few minutes appreciating this Cooper's Hawk.

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Yes, I am also thankful for the hawks, the crows, the birds, the squirrels, the insects, and all the living things that we are fortunate to see in our encounters with the world. How horrible it would be if they were not present.

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Agreed Perry. Each encounter is such a treat and unqiue experience. The world would definitely be a miserable place without those encounters.

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What a face! I love the treasures and dangers combination.

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Thanks Wei Tam!

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Mar 11Liked by Neil Barker

Very nice!

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Thanks Michael. I do owe the Black-capped Chickadees once again for sounding the alarm and letting me know to stop and look around.

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Mar 11Liked by Neil Barker

They're amazing little fluffs, so full of life!

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Agreed!

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Love the bold colored feathers on the first photo, nice light. It's always interesting to hear other birds sounding the "hawk" alarm. He appeared to be persistent in waiting there. Wonderful photos!

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Thanks Pamela and this one was definitely persistent the way they stayed perched for so long. :)

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I had a Sharp-shinned hawk that would sit in the tree watching the sparrows at my old place on the river. He was very persistent waiting for the right moment.

So awesome you had some time with him.

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Thank you for this wonderful poem and post expressing silent inner gratitude in Nature. Recently, I saw a hawk, possibly a Coopers although the lighting was so gray it was hard to tell, sitting alone in a tree with a few American Crows flanking it, warning with their cawing. It was quite a display. The crows eventually must have felt satisfied that they had made themselves clear and took off. The hawk waited and waited then took off to the west in the opposite direction from the crows.

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Thanks Heidi and happy to share, That certainly sounds like a Cooper's Hawk as them and American Crows seem to encounter each other a lot. It's interesting how the crows will do that mobbing behaviour and then eventually grow bored and wander off.

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Thanks for the confirmation, Neil. The crows were quite raucous in their behavior. You could pretty much translate it into English. I’m going to rough you up. I’m going to mop the forest floor with you. You can go when we feel like you can go. O’kay, now we’re bored. Mobbing behavior indeed.:)

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deletedMar 11
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Thanks B2 and sad but true. I think of the struggles and obstacles that wildlife and Nature in general goes through as a result of greed in society. I do not know how to solve it, but hopefully small steps and individual actions lead to something positive.

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