BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture Native American Do you see what I see?

Here she is flying over our red heart cedar tree with a branch in her beak for the nest. While I would love to have the nest close to our house, despite the noise, I would prefer a safer location for the babies. She's not out there right now. Hopefully she's hunting a better spot. I did caution her about the crows. These hawks act so uncharacteristically around us, sometimes I would swear they are listening and understand us.

Here's the picture I posted a few years back. This was the first hawk to move in and I think it might be the younger one's mother. Her cry sounded very close to an eagle's with a deep undernote that reasonated amazingly. She and her mate stayed near us for 2 years. I can still hear her distinctive call in my mind. If I am ever blessed with her visiting again, I know I will recognize her call.

This photo was taken from inside with the window and screen closed. I forgot to turn off the flash. She saw the flash and then "posed" for the next few shots. It was unbelievable.

SKYELAW, I just realized that in 3 years I've never looked in my Audubon Field Guide to see what my hawks are. In all the excitement I finally did today. These appear to be Red-shouldered Hawks and are much larger than our Kestrel's, with heights from 16-24 inches (41-61 cm) and wing spans of a meter.

The fence post finial in the photo is 7 inches tall. This hawk would be at least 16 inches tall. I can vouch for the wing span. She flew not 12 feet over my head with a black snake dangling from her talons one afternoon.

According to the Field Guide their preferred habitat perfectly matches the large undeveloped lot behind our house, swampy, wooded bog. It also states they are normally shy. But if not bothered, they can become tame. Perhaps their behavior isn't as uncharacteristic as I had thought.

we dont have them red shouldered types over here i dont think. i once found a kestrel that hit electricity wires it only took a week to put it back in good health then i let it go again it was a magnificent bird to look at. some people train them to hunt like falcons.

Beautiful hawks, lcp. Thank you.

Lawrence, besides the kestrel, do you have other hawks in County Durham?

I feed the wild birds sunflower seeds and peanuts (unsalted). The scrub jays here love them, but so do the squirrels. That's ok. I do not mind the squirrels, but the jays do.

just sparrow hawks thats all phyllis

We did our grocery shopping today. As we pulled into one of the shopping centers there was a small brown marsh rabbit. That was certainly an unusual spot. We've occasionally seen them in the neighborhood, but I wasn't expecting one to be so close to businesses and a major thoroughfare.

Kaycee, welcome to the Native American site. It is good to have you here. We have great fun posting and reading about all the wildlife we see.

lcp, I hope the rabbit finds its way home to safety. I have been watching the rabbits this morning out on the snow covered mountain behind me. I have not seen a cottontail for several weeks, but the jackrabbits are very active around here.

Thanks Kaycee! Yes, I do love animals, all of them. From the Native American perspective, they aren't just our neighbors, but our brothers and sisters. We were all created and share life on Mother Earth.

Late last night there was a show on PBS about Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks as viewed by American Indians. A few of the Elders shared animal stories. These are such a large part of our mythology, culture and way to teach our children. Two of the Elders commented that everything has a story, each of the animals, the wind, moutains, lakes and rivers, every hill and valley.

As for the hawks, I have had a unique bond with these magnificent birds for many years, and I don't really know why. It will be very warm here today and our house is open. I can hear at least one calling as I type now. I was taught Hawks bring messages, like their brother the Eagle. This message is usually a reminder to pay attention to what's going on around us.

Growing up, my daughter shared in my love of birds and now the Hawks are with her too. There is at least one nesting pair near her home and she called this week while on her lunch break to tell me two were circling over her. She had them near her old house and I heard them at her new place last summer. I went out on her little balcony and asked them to watch over her. I guess they heard me.