Birds of a Feather

I stepped out of the shower yesterday and was face to face with a gigantic hawk who was lingering outside our bathroom window.  I stood there transfixed, watching this enormous bird swoop and soar around the backyard.   He seemed to have all the time in the world - I couldn't tell if he was hunting or just practicing his maneuvers but he was amazing to watch as he glided back and forth, swooping low then soaring high.  Have you ever been at eye-level with a bird in flight?  It really is a sight to behold.

We have lots of birds here in the OBB and we often watch as they hunt for prey in the fields surrounding our house, and once or twice watching them help themselves to one of the partridges that live in evergreen corner.  Yes, here in the OBB we have a partridge family.   Aside from the  hawks, we have osprey and eagles, not to mention ravens and let's don't forget about those Mo-Fo pigeons, who as an aside seem to have given up summering over at our house this year which is fine by us.

This morning as I sat with the dogs in our muskoka rockers on the front porch, sipping tea and watching the world go by I saw him again.  Except this time he was with his mate.  Yesterday I watched as he gathered sticks twigs and flew away to the field behind our neighbors house where clearly he's building a nest.   

You know real estate is all about location, location, location and I guess it holds true in the avian world as well, because the hawks are building their nest beside the Osprey nest which is like having the equivalent of a drive through next door.    Very clever those hawks are.