Hawk in Nature
It snowed again, a beautiful powdery fluff that made
everything seem so pristine. I did what was needed, shoveling the front drive
and relieving the cars from their white burden. As I was working I heard the
birds around me – a woodpecker knocking
on the trunk of a tree, the frantic chirping of the finches as they rushed in
and out of the forsythia bush, geese chatting overhead as they made their way
south in a long vee. What I didn’t hear was something that was happening in the
backyard.
There were no birds on the feeders, a rather unusual
occurrence for the time of day, especially during a snowy day when food is
harder to find. They had been there earlier in the day, flitting back and forth
between mouthfuls of seed. A mourning dove had joined them and was quietly
cooing. Now there was silence. Hmmm.
Then I knew why. Toward the back of the yard was a large
bird – a hawk! It was on the snow, pecking at something. By the look of the
feathers underneath its feet, the mourning dove was its meal. Poor thing.
Nature can seem cruel at times but then everything has to
eat. In the natural scheme of things, there is something for everyone. It is
when part of nature becomes greedy that cruelty comes in. Animals that are
forced out of their natural habitat must find a source of food. WHYY has been
presenting a series by M. Sanjayan called A New Wild about the
interaction of people and animals. It is worth seeing and, even more so,
contemplating our impact on this incredible earth.
An interview with M. Sanjayan:
http://blog.conservation.org/2015/02/why-i-made-earth-a-new-wild/
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