We turned down Brushy Fork Road in search of Red-tailed Hawks (Red-tails). The rolling hills of southwest Illinois are an ideal habitat for them. The pastures and fingers of trees that follow watercourses and ridges provide a home for small rodents and places for hawks to perch and watch.
Your writing is lovely. Brings tears to the eyes and warms the heart beyond measure. They are always close and bring focus to what truly matters in life and being alive. Hope with wings soaring, dancing with grace on the invisible whispers that bring such effortless joy to my soul.
Even tho I rescue birds on the opposite side of this guy's food chain, I love all birds. Baby hawks are absolutely adorable. There almost furry like looking legs look like they have white bloomers on lol. Absolutely cuter than you can imagine a bird of prey being up close at that age. All babies are cute! When they grow up...they go from cute to magnificent. I do admire them but when I talk to them outside (which I do believe in bird enrichment even if they are wild). . . I tell them, "plz go to another grocery store". lol. Meaning, shop for their dinner in someone else's yard hahaha. I work in a plaza at a very well known retail store in Pennsylvania&in the UnitedStates in general. That is my job that actually pays me. It's sad...but most ppl who rescue animals don't ever get paid. They do it bc they love nature. Most rescue groups are short-handed on ppl as it is. This plaza LOVES TO POISON ITS RODENTS. I do not believe in killing "anybody". My husband and I talk about animals as they are ppl...so when I say that, I mean "anything" (but animals are NOT things). I tried to go at them with another approach. Most men even if they hate animals, think birds of prey are "neat, cool, awesome, or manly"& like them at least. I explained how they then get poisoned after the rodents ingest the poison and it is usually a very slow sad death. Thinking that would make them think. We are off of a MAJOR highway and there are plenty of hawks (and crows for clean up) that fly above. I explained that if they'd let them do their job mother nature put them here to do...the birds of prey would multiply and take care of the unwanted little guys (which that also makes me sad that ppl think of any wild mice as disgusting...but I get it there are restaurants near by). If ppl would let the FOODCHAIN do what it is supposed to do...there would be no need for all the poison, which in turn hurts way more animals than just rats or mice. Squirrels&rabbits I've seen hop out of these traps. It's absolutely heart breaking. Plz think before calling the orkin man 🙏 plz.
I agree with Autumn. I don’t kill anything or wish any animal dead. I have moles and voles in my yard and would love for hawks to do their natural thing here. Bur my neighbor has a little dog she worries about. 🙁 What to do...
Bill, though I am a proud subscriber to your newsletter, for unknown reason my subscribership doesn't show up on my profile! I'd like for others to know and be pointed to your publication. What can I, you, or Substack do to correct the omission?
Beautiful experience and writing. I saw a sharp-shinned in my yard last week and sat studying them through glasses for minutes. They found no chipmunk that day.
My yard is adjacent to our local public park. There is a creek and a couple of acres of unused parkland that separates me from the business of the walking trails, soccer fields and playgrounds. It is a marvelous habitat for all kinds of critters and birds, including an abundance of hawks and barred owls. I have 5 chickens who are constantly surveilled by the hawks and owls. Two have survived hawk attacks as I am a diligent guardian and am assisted by my little dog and the local flock of crows (called a murder, I believe!). While the hawks are beautiful and fascinating to observe, I must admit I have a hard time enjoying their presence since they like to feast on the abundant bird population I have cultivated over the 40 years I have lived here. They especially target the Mourning Doves, who seem to be slower than the other birds. There are mallards who return to the creek every year and I am sure that the hawks get most of the ducklings, as I see them being marched down to the creek by their mother soon after they are hatched, but not for long after that. This is the difficult part of being a bird enthusiast! I enjoy your insights and appreciated you sharing your personal journey in today’s (January 12/2024) entry. It is amazing how much healing and restoration of one’s self can be achieved by establishing a relationship with Nature, however small and limited that connection might be.
Your writing is lovely. Brings tears to the eyes and warms the heart beyond measure. They are always close and bring focus to what truly matters in life and being alive. Hope with wings soaring, dancing with grace on the invisible whispers that bring such effortless joy to my soul.
Thank you.
Even tho I rescue birds on the opposite side of this guy's food chain, I love all birds. Baby hawks are absolutely adorable. There almost furry like looking legs look like they have white bloomers on lol. Absolutely cuter than you can imagine a bird of prey being up close at that age. All babies are cute! When they grow up...they go from cute to magnificent. I do admire them but when I talk to them outside (which I do believe in bird enrichment even if they are wild). . . I tell them, "plz go to another grocery store". lol. Meaning, shop for their dinner in someone else's yard hahaha. I work in a plaza at a very well known retail store in Pennsylvania&in the UnitedStates in general. That is my job that actually pays me. It's sad...but most ppl who rescue animals don't ever get paid. They do it bc they love nature. Most rescue groups are short-handed on ppl as it is. This plaza LOVES TO POISON ITS RODENTS. I do not believe in killing "anybody". My husband and I talk about animals as they are ppl...so when I say that, I mean "anything" (but animals are NOT things). I tried to go at them with another approach. Most men even if they hate animals, think birds of prey are "neat, cool, awesome, or manly"& like them at least. I explained how they then get poisoned after the rodents ingest the poison and it is usually a very slow sad death. Thinking that would make them think. We are off of a MAJOR highway and there are plenty of hawks (and crows for clean up) that fly above. I explained that if they'd let them do their job mother nature put them here to do...the birds of prey would multiply and take care of the unwanted little guys (which that also makes me sad that ppl think of any wild mice as disgusting...but I get it there are restaurants near by). If ppl would let the FOODCHAIN do what it is supposed to do...there would be no need for all the poison, which in turn hurts way more animals than just rats or mice. Squirrels&rabbits I've seen hop out of these traps. It's absolutely heart breaking. Plz think before calling the orkin man 🙏 plz.
I agree with Autumn. I don’t kill anything or wish any animal dead. I have moles and voles in my yard and would love for hawks to do their natural thing here. Bur my neighbor has a little dog she worries about. 🙁 What to do...
Bill, though I am a proud subscriber to your newsletter, for unknown reason my subscribership doesn't show up on my profile! I'd like for others to know and be pointed to your publication. What can I, you, or Substack do to correct the omission?
Beautiful experience and writing. I saw a sharp-shinned in my yard last week and sat studying them through glasses for minutes. They found no chipmunk that day.
It's nice to be here with like hearts. Birds of a feather, together...
What an amazing experience and great photos of those hawks. I'm putting "The Peregrine" by J.A. Baker next up on my reading list.
What an amazing experience! Thank you for sharing, and for drawing the connections to the ways that we can draw nearer to the wild birds, too :)
“They are generalists that tolerate us and can survive in our midst.”
Thank you Bill. I really enjoy receiving your letters. 🦅
What an incredible honor to experience a magnificent bird so intimately. Your writing really captures the essence of your work, Bill.
My yard is adjacent to our local public park. There is a creek and a couple of acres of unused parkland that separates me from the business of the walking trails, soccer fields and playgrounds. It is a marvelous habitat for all kinds of critters and birds, including an abundance of hawks and barred owls. I have 5 chickens who are constantly surveilled by the hawks and owls. Two have survived hawk attacks as I am a diligent guardian and am assisted by my little dog and the local flock of crows (called a murder, I believe!). While the hawks are beautiful and fascinating to observe, I must admit I have a hard time enjoying their presence since they like to feast on the abundant bird population I have cultivated over the 40 years I have lived here. They especially target the Mourning Doves, who seem to be slower than the other birds. There are mallards who return to the creek every year and I am sure that the hawks get most of the ducklings, as I see them being marched down to the creek by their mother soon after they are hatched, but not for long after that. This is the difficult part of being a bird enthusiast! I enjoy your insights and appreciated you sharing your personal journey in today’s (January 12/2024) entry. It is amazing how much healing and restoration of one’s self can be achieved by establishing a relationship with Nature, however small and limited that connection might be.
Thanks, Bill. I will share w my neighbor.