the red tail

Yesterday I spotted the Red Tail hawk that lives in the neighborhood.  I was pretty sure I’d see him because of the weather and the season.  I haven’t seen the bird during leaf season – spring, summer and early fall.  But when the leaves are off the trees, that’s when I see him soaring around.

This isn’t some sighting from afar.  Last year I was able to watch him close-up.  He was perched in trees in my neighbors’ yards and occasionally perched on a fence post in my yard too.  In fact my dog spooked him off the lawn last year.  I’d speculate that when the leaves are off the trees a hawk gets a better view of the ground as he’s gliding around, making it much easier to swoop in on some unsuspecting animal and gobble it up.  Not too long ago, seeing larger birds of prey in suburban yards on Long Island was unheard of.  Those damn environmentalists!  Now I have hawks!

Now I’m not some kind of birder; I just happen to look up once in a while.  I haven’t discussed this with any of the neighbors, but I’d be curious to know if anyone else has noticed this bird.  So many people talk about getting back to Nature – you know green is in today.  I just think it works out better when Nature gets back to us… except, maybe, for all those Canada Geese and those deer that roam the streets.