Hawks Are Cool

[nchunterkw]

I had a hawk fly in and land some trees real close to where I was setup last night. I just saw a bird fly in - a little bigger than a crow maybe and with a striped tail. But I couldn't see it. It moved locations a few times, and finally landed about 12 feet from me on a low branch (I was hoping he was not confusing me with something to eat). But he did the coolest thing. He kept making little chirps that sounded exactly like a squirrel. A true hunter using a call! Never saw that before and thought it was pretty cool.

[Riflemanz]

That is cool!

[one shot scott]

thats is really cool!

its not cool when they start picking on the turkeys though!

[Pydpiper]

Very cool!
A few years ago I was turkey hunting, watched a hen cluck right on by me.. Wished I has video running, she was close and active.
5 minutes later, as her clucks grew distant I heard a shuffle..
What happened next will be with me forever.
That hen came back by me as fast as a hen can run without leaving the ground, and that's pretty fast.
On her tail was a bald eagle, very uncommon bird here.. That eagle passed by me while I was on the ground with it's talons straight out, inches from that turkeys hind quarters (almost said "ass", phew)
Both went by in a split second, the wingspan was so great it left me in a shadow for a moment, hen made it to the woods without harm.
I will never forget that hunt, seeing a bald eagle here is rare, feeling it's wind as it tries to have lunch is something I will always remember. The sky got dark for a moment as it passed.
Nature is purely awesome, I am privileged to experience it.

[nchunterkw]

Awesome story

[Deerstalker]

I was in my tree stand this afternoon & was wondering why I did not see any tree rats at my corn feeder. Suddenly a large hawk came flying through the trees about 4' off the ground. He was dipping and weaving through the trees like a fighter pilot. What a beautiful sight. Later in the day I was lucky to harvest a nice doe. It doesn't get any better than this being out in the woods! Called my oldest son & he came to help out the old man, (74), with the dragging & butchering. Backstrap is in the Yeti cooler.

[Lake shooter]

Maybe 5-6 seasons back I was 20' up an oak in my Summit, late in the day facing east. All of a sudden a slate grey blur went right by my left ear with a
whoosh! I think it was a Coopers hawk that saw the left side of my head moving on the back side of the tree. Luckily for me, it realized that I was NOT a squirrel just in time for me to keep both ears!!!!

These are all great stories and as the last poster said, what I really like to do. When I was little, even preschool, and all through school, I headed for the woods instead of playing football, baseball and basketball. There's no other place that relaxes me more and makes me feel more at home and alive.

The part about the squirrel call is epic!

[Lake shooter]

Got that right. We have red shouldered hawks and barred owls living in our back yard. Every now and then I see one grab a squirrel or rabbit, and once a chipmunk. Very cool, but they need to do more of it!

[Kegbelly]

I had a big owl hang around my ladder stand the whole time I hunted Sunday morning. He'd light on a limb for a while, fly down to the ground, then back up to another limb for a bit, back down to the ground... at one point he was in a tree maybe 25 feet from me on the same level, it was pretty interesting to watch. He never made a sound.

[wabi]

This one watches my bird feeder in the winter.

Not a great pic, but it's a Coopers hawk.
Winter isn't here yet, but I've been keeping the feeder filled and I saw him the other day checking things out.

[Kegbelly]

I had my back to a stump and was eating my lunch and a hawk swooped in and grabbed my touque ( that's knitted hat for you yanks )off my head. He landed on a tree nearby and I got to watch him trying to kill it before he dropped it in digust and flew off in search of tastier fare.
Hank

I bet that was a sight!

[nchunterkw]

Like others have said nature is cool and I love to be out in it. Regarding owls...I saw a show about birds of prey and owls feathers are made in such a way that they create no turbulence on the leading edge and therefore allow them to fly silently. It's why they can swoop in on prey without bring heard. So cool.

[strum]

turk season of 2012 I was sitting in my blind when I noticed a red tail fly by and land in a tree behind me. didn't think nothing of it until it flew down and hit my decoy
I missed it because I was looking the other way but the sound made me look as he flew to a tree above the decoy he sat there looking very confused at what just happened. the decoy had talon punctures in its head and back.
I never knew they would hit a full grown turk.
the pic is hard to see but that's a thumb talon puncture behind the eye it was brain dead after the ordeal

[URL=http://s790.photobucket.com/user/strum1 ... 7.jpg.html]

[rayman]

Nature can be a little too AWSOME sometimes. One day last week when I got home there was a disturbance around my son's chicken coop. Start walking back there and see a large bald eagle that appears to be trying to get to the chickens from ground level and hasn't figured out to fly down in from above yet. Robert sells the eggs at church for spending money and we aint having any of that around here. I run in the house, grab the shotgun and a couple of shells, and run back out to the chicken coop. The eagle flies about a hundred yards and lands in a tree back in the woods. I shoot in the air to let it know that it is not welcome around my kid's chicken pen. Hasn't been back so maybe it got the message. And no, I am not going to kill the bald eagle.

[FNARSCOT]

I keep yard chickens. In the spring when they hatch young I have to keep the shop Bay door closed as they often try to escape Hawks by coming in with a Hawk in pursuit. Hawks and custom paint jobs don't work. On a regular basis the Hawks will hit the closed door when they catch one. Loads of fun when you are in the zone working and BAM. Chickens are cheap and the Hawks were here first so it's become something I enjoy. Now the bobcat that jumped on my hunting partners back while we were turkey hunting was not as harmless.(he was calling) The look on both of their faces(his and the cats) was priceless and when I found out he crapped his britches I laughed till I about died. That was years ago and I laughed as I typed this. Minor physical harm, ruined jacket and priceless memory.