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The
Sentinels
by Marci
Leaving our
backyard, wildlife sanctuary for Florida has left me with such mixed
emotions. It's as if these feathered friends are my very own, special
family and no one else can care for them as I have. My goodness,
I need to grow up!
These birds
and other creatures are in their special world and are, indeed,
amazing. So, with that I will try to stop the tearful
reminiscing, and bid them all a safe fairwell. But, it isn't easy.
As luck would
have it...no I think perhaps something else...my mourning doves,
and the other birds will have self-appointed
protectors; another amazing tale to tell.
About a month
ago, as I was standing in my driveway gazing here and there at the
clouds and watching for hawks sneaking in over the wooded area,
a shocking event occurred. At least for these eyes.
Suddenly, from
out of the backyard woods and over the rooftop, two feathered figures
emerged...a huge, American crow chasing a large (female) Cooper's
hawk. What in the world...I thought!!?
Never in my
wildest could I have imagined that a crow would take on a hawk that
was considerably larger, and with a
tremendous wing span. But, there they were. The huge, black crow,
and the much larger, variegated shaded hawk, playing
out a type of ballet right over my head, up in the air and over
the middle of the street, right in front of my house!
As I watched,
the crow would fly at the hawk, and the hawk would retreat a short
distance...but they remained less than a
foot a part with the crow the decided aggressor. This dance of the
predators continued for at least five minutes, with the
hawk finally widening its retreat distance, and the victorious crow
flying back into my wildlife sanctuary and screeching its
victory. The hawk remained, high in the sky at a considerable distance...hanging
and hovering, as I pointed her out to my
neighbor. Finally, she disappeared. What a sight!
Well, I thought
that this was some kind of anomaly...you know one in a hundred,
but NO! Yesterday, several weeks after the first event, an even
greater surprise played out in front of my eyes. Boy, am I a lucky
person to be able to see wildlife in action.
There I sat,
on my sofa in the family room, looking out into the backyard and
the woods just over the fence. I had only been seated for a few
minutes when a large hawk flew into the yard through the trees,
at a horizontal angle, just over the fence from the sanctuary. From
this area, she has launched her deadly and successful attacks from
the thick summer foliage of the trees.
I jumped up,
peering out of the patio door and up into the woods. At first, I
thought that my eyes had failed me...again. I could see a large
crow flying, and then I saw some doves fluttering, and all of a
sudden there was such a commotion...it sent me flying out of the
door and into the backyard.
Sight of all
sights...Yes, I had seen a Cooper's hawk...a very large one gliding
in horizontally into the wooded area, no doubt going after a prey.
But now there were at least 6 or 7 large American crows attacking
the hawk.
The crows were
squawking and screeching and dive-bombing at the hawk that was sent
flying out of the woods the way it came in. All of this action was
easily seen since most of the trees have lost their leaves in that
area.
Well, you should
have seen me. There I was in the backyard yelping and screaming..."did
you see that...they chased her...they chased her." The crows
have staked out this territory, and it is theirs!
My neighbors
probably mused at the sight since they have seen me in the sanctuary
before carrying on in what may appear to be strange behavior...crying
over a freshly killed dove, or spreading goodies for my feathered
friends.
I do feel somewhat
better at the thought of leaving Winterglen Way and the backyard
wildlife sanctuary for now my newest friends, the American crows,
are now "The Sentinels." As I close this bit of news,
I can hear my new friends squawking in the distance. The Sentinels
have arrived.
"May you
always hear the whisper of wings," from Christine Tarski on
Birdingabout.com
Marci
Writings by Marci:
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