Watching and Wondering

Late this afternoon I spotted this red-tailed hawk perched on a rooftop watching closely for rodent movement on the ground below it. The hawk was so engrossed in watching for its next meal that the bird did not notice I had stopped to shoot pictures of it. Eventually my presence was realized by the hawk, but not until after I had recorded a number of images of this magnificent bird.

After watching this hawk, along with numerous other hawks and kestrels over time, as they sat motionless to watch for movement, I wondered…would it be possible for humans to monitor one small area of habitat and actually see mice moving around? If we did see prey species, could we catch what we saw moving around?

Think about it…each bird of prey - hawks, owls, eagles, and falcons - must eat near daily. They must find meals under all conditions or their condition will quickly deteriorate. Now consider how many rodents there must be out moving around, especially when you consider that you often see birds of prey hunting the same areas day after day after day. There is so much going on that we don’t even realize…right in our own backyards.