Hawk goes hunting

As I wandered along the trails in Chagrin River Park today, I encountered a red-tailed hawk in six different locations: by the fence rail, near the bluebird nesting boxes (oh no, not good), by the sledding hill steps, in the bog, and across the river perched in a tree. Obviously, the hunt was on.

The last hawk encounter happened when I was standing by the bog where some mallards and canada geese were swimming. I had already spotted a hawk in the area, but I didn’t have my eye on it, when suddenly an unholy, raucous racket burst over the bog. After the racket, and water, subsided, I looked around for the cause of all the commotion, and this is what I saw:

Perched proudly on a nearby tree limb, clutching a collection of leaves, lots of leaves, was a proud looking hawk. Possibly he was anticipating the delicious dinner he would soon enjoy: A small sparrow? A mallard? A Canada goose? He must have been aiming for something big because he had plunged right into the middle of a swimming party. Now look at this:

Staring at his talons, where where he should be gripping something he could soon devour for dinner, all he sees is a bunch of wet leaves. Whatever he was aiming for when he plummeted into the bog, escaped to live another day. Hawk will have to keep on hunting.

Afterword: I believe there were at least two different hawks out hunting today. I saw them in a number of locations, and the timing of my encounters suggests multiple hawks.

Thanks for joining me on the trail today.
See you soon.
Trail Walker