Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

Raptor Wednesday

Storm day Saturday afternoon.
Sunday morning.
Same bird, I think, a couple hours and a few avenue blocks away. Appearance in Raven territory was cause for a noisy encounter.

On Sunday morning, this bird flew up from the fire-escape to attempt to grab a Mourning Dove that had just landed on the roof parapet. The dove had no difficulty getting away. The hawk then flew into the park, landing in a linden with at least two Grey Squirrels in it. There was some scurrying about, but the element of surprise was not with the raptor. The next thing I knew, the hawk was in the air, and snatching a black plastic bag out of the top of a London Plane along the edge of the park. The bag had been there for weeks, if not months. The bird flew out of sight with bag in talons.

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