Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Life (and Death) in the Courtyard

Yesterday our little courtyard was a celebration of Valentine’s Day – love in the courtyard.  Today is a continuation of life in the courtyard.

I was watching TV in our living area and Betty was in the bedroom reading.  All of a sudden I hear a bang against one of our windows.  Oh, oh, another big bird has run into one of our windows.

I got up to look to see if he/she survived and I see our resident Coopers Hawk sitting on the ground with what looks like a House or Purple Finch in his claws.  From the sound of the crash on the window I think he caught the bird at the window and they both ran into the glass.

He sat there for a long time before starting to pluck his prey.  After awhile he flew off.

Hawk Kill 1_640x413

Hawk Kill 2_640x428

And the cycle of life in our little courtyard moves on.

5 comments:

Fantastyk Voyager said...

Wow, very sad but amazing to see so close up!

Anonymous said...

Quite ironic after yesterday's post..but it's amazing what we see when we take the time to look..

Keri said...

I think it is time to name your resident hawk ..... maybe Hannibal Lecter?

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

A cooper hawk is what became tangled in our hawk netting above our chicken coop last year and we had to rescue it and set it free.
I love the wildness of raptors.

You are really treated to some amazing nature scenes in your courtyard. I bet it helps the healing time just speed on by.

~Lisa

Michelle said...

What a courtyard! Someone show let National Geographic in on that prime location. Man.