A Discovery Channel Moment Outside My Window
I was banging away on the computer this afternoon when I heard a noisy, angry bird and looked outside. Atop the telephone pole across the street was a hawk dismembering a feathery corpse. Pestering the hawk was the local mockingbird, who was dive-bombing from various angles. It occurred to me that the hawk was chowing down on the dead chick of the angry mockingbird. But from its gray feathers, the dead bird looked more like a pigeon. So possibly, the mockingbird was just being territorial or boldly acquisitive—he/she lives half a block away and makes quite a racket in this neighborhood.
Anyway, it was interesting to see a little bit of natural drama unfold right on my street. My camcorder was right at hand so I grabbed it and filmed a few minutes of the action. Shortly after I stopped filming the hawk finished its meal, picked a few bits of blood and meat off its talons, cleaned its beak against the wooden pole, and flew away.
