The Hawk and the Squirrel

[Bill Markwick]

Here's a large hawk I saw sitting about five metres up in High Park. From the wingspan of more than a metre and the chest markings, I'd guess that he's a Wide-winged or Cooper's hawk. Curiously, in the hour I was in that area, he never moved from the branch. Usually when squirrels see a hawk, they bolt up the nearest tree and start their alarm calls. Not with this one - they were right out in the open, paying no attention. You can see that he's watching them:

http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/5852/sqrhawk18oy.jpg

But it gets more interesting: a squirrel joined him in the tree.

http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/1116/sqrhawk26an.jpg

The squirrel must have seen the hawk. Is he just reckless, or does he know that the hawk is unlikely to attack through the branches?

Regards,
Bill
Panasonic FZ20, Vivitar 285HV

[val123]

Wow, Bill Super capture, and well spotted. Nice one.

[kornhauser]

It's a juvenile red-tailed hawk. However, I've never seen one with such a pretty white chest! The face, body and immature tail feathers give it away. Excellent shot!