The Red-Tailed Hawk Swoops in for a Visit

For Cardiff Chapter's February meeting we hosted Holly, a returned Peace Corps volunteer from Panama. We learned all about life in Panama and made Peace Packs for Holly to take to a school there. Towards the end of the meeting, as I was gathering the kids for a closing circle, my son kept pulling back from me and saying "A red-tailed hawk!! A red-tailed hawk!!" I said, no, that's a crow (which our yard is full of). But he would not relent, and he finally guided my eye to where this hawk was sitting right above me, in our tree. The hawk had been carrying a rat it had caught when suddenly another hawk had swooped on it and knocked the rat from it's grasp, falling to the grass below -- all witnessed by the kids. The first hawk was apparently unwilling to give up on its hard-earned prey, but there was the rat -- lying in the middle of a yard filled with 16 children, their parents, and other guests. I urged all the children to be quiet and back up a few yards to give the hawk some room. We stood there silently for minute after minute, hoping that the hawk would feel safe enough to reclaim it's dinner. The kids were bursting with excitement but managed to restrain themselves for the sake of the hawk. Finally, when all was completely still, the hawk swooped down, snatched up it's prey, and flew off to enjoy it and we all cheered! (Caveat: I'm assuming my 7-year-old son was right about it being a red-tailed since he knows more about that stuff than I do, but I don't really know!) -Katrina