Date: Sun, 28 Dec 2003 16:17:28 +0000 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Carrol Cowan Subject: Re: from the kitchen window Steve, I always enjoy your posts, but this one is special! You sure you want to put your writing out in the public domain before getting it copyrighted? -- Carrol Cowan Washington DC > The crows call me to the kitchen window as my coffee brews. An alarm > from them always means somethign interesting is about to happen: > > A female sharpshin rises from her glide through the drainage ditch > along the road. The crows long ago drove off any of the sparrows or > larks she normally may have surprised as she popped up into sight. Not > that a kill would have been certain, but if she can find food on the > way to the hunting grounds the day will be a good one. > > She takes a perch in a small osage along the fence. Bad luck again as > the daily barn cleaning has fouled the creek. To bathe herself or > catch a bather unaware I'll never know. But everyone avoids the > tainted milky-gray waters. > > A feral cat prowls the driveway and the feeder is empty of food > because of her; it's elevated location and hopper full of seed not > enough incentive to risk the cat on this warm December morning. > > The small hawk wags her tail and bobs her head. A small pellet drops > into the stream below. She ate last night! > > She turns and surveys the field. An occassional crow tries to show > off its bravery by attemping to dive at her. The choice of osage is > now apparent. No crow can penetrate that dense thicket with its wings > open. And no crow wants to walk up to even a small hawk. > > She wags again and launches towards the open field. The crows swarm > her, but she loses herself in the roiling mass. The swirling black > ball continues, but she's now using it for cover, and flying safely > above and to its side. > > Then she folds her wings and is off like a rocket towards the barns. > A flock of birds, starlings?, explodes from somewhere, rising above > the silos in a well synchronized maneuver. A white flash from below > and a dart pierces the round black target. Wide wings flare in the > bullseye and I see the larger bird glide back towards earth. Whether > her feet clutched only tail feathers or a hearbeat about to become one > with her own I do not know. > > ====================================================================== > = > To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com > with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey > ======================================================================= ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================