Red in tooth and claw

[terminusest]

Walking on campus yesterday, I was startled by a hawk swooping down some distance in front of me. It was too far away for me to see if it had caught anything. But, apparently deciding its perch was too exposed, it decided to transfer to a building ledge. Its path took it just a few feet over my head, and I saw what it had in its talons: a

Comments

Was the squirrel still alive?

[ext_95646]

Reminds me of the Laurie Anderson song about the Annie Dillard story about the eagle and the weasel. Which was a powerfully creepy image, and probably why Anderson latched onto it (pun intended

Re: Was the squirrel still alive?

[terminusest]

The squirrel was quite limp in the talons. I think the hawk landed on its first perch, near where it took the squirrel, to kill it. Then it flew to a more secluded location to eat in peace.

[mareklamo]

Awesome! I've never seen a hawk with its prey. Do you have eagles up your way too?

[terminusest]

No eagles that I know of. I believe that the raptors that hang around campus are red-tailed hawks. The relatively exposed spaces combined with numerous squirrels make for easy pickings.