HAWTHORNE!

I am so excited to introduce you to Hawthorne-- the hawk who visits me on occasion. I think this is a female but have named her Hawthorne because she is a Hawthorne. I suspect she is female because she's huge and female raptors are bigger than male raptors.

Isn't she gorgeous? Look at her! She was after a squirrel and I think I interrupted the hunt. She's not one bit scared of me. Unlike most hawks, she doesn't fly away when I go outside. I always face her, never turn my back, however, because, well, she's a hawk. She is massive. She is healthy. She is bold.

She stayed a while then flew off. Later, while I was shoveling, she flew across the pond, her eyes right on mine. (Hawks stare right into your eyes. It's kind of scary, but she knows I'm not scared of her.) I dropped my shovel and spread out my arms, "Hawthorne, you're back!" She landed on a branch near me and once again stared at me. I said, "You're welcome to a squirrel but I cannot witness it. The murder has to occur when I"m gone. OK?" She stared. She knows I'm talking to her and I think she kind of likes it.

​Anyway, here she is, on my feeder, looking around and at me through the window. (Notice my window pictures. I have markers but they didn't work as well as they should, so I also put angry pictures. It kind of worked better than the markers. Not  many bangs now. )