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Thread: Learning Every Day!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2021
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    NJ
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    Default Learning Every Day!

    Hi All,

    My first post -

    We have three trash covered cans along the side of the house on the back patio. I feed our backyard squirrels on one of the lids. About 4' away is a small love seat type bench with a canvas cover on it. When I took a quick work break around 10a, I was surprised to see a roughly 14" tall red-tailed hawk perched on the bench cover, 4 1/2' away from Stan, our female gray squirrel who adopted us about 18 months ago. Stan was on the lid eating an almond, staring at the hawk. I waved the hawk away, and immediately changed where Stan & friends get their nuts to an area surrounded by trees.

    My question is, since Stan & friends and the hawk weigh roughly the same, were the squirrels in no danger? Are squirrels (or any prey) safe as long as they are facing (able to fight back) to a hawk?

    I was also surprised by how freely the squirrels kept coming around, and that there was no 'chatter'.

    Anyway, just learning . . . Thanks for any feedback

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    East coast of Florida
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    Default Re: Learning Every Day!

    That would be scary for sure! eek. I’m not sure why the squirrels wouldn’t be alarming.

    Where I live we don’t have many hawks. The one I believe we do have is a red tailed hawk. He flies over my property pretty routinely….sometimes the squirrels alarm and sometimes not. We have a large population of ring neck dove which is the preferred food of this hawk. Most times when he flies by the dove scatter at an alarming rate and that startles the squirrels and they alarm.

    I have heard from neighbors that they have seen a squirrel in the talons of a hawk in my neighborhood, but I can’t be sure it was this hawk. I would think if a hawk is hungry enough any type of food would be fair game…..including squirrels.

    . I hate hawks!

  3. 3 TSBers pass along the fuzzy thanks to Mel1959:

    Grinderhead (12-09-2021), island rehabber (12-09-2021), stepnstone (12-09-2021)

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