‘Hoods Gone Wild
Anyone who thinks you can’t experience nature in the city that hasn’t been to my neighborhood lately. In addition to the albino palmetto bug we found in our backyard, the possum that sneaks through our backyard every night and the raccoon that uses our dog door to come on the porch and eat cat food, we also have a pair of hawks that have been around here for about a year.
My first close encounter with the hawks was when I was on the back porch. I heard a loud scuffle and turned around just in time to see one flying off with a poor little bluejay in it’s talons. More recently, I was driving down my street when one of the hawks swooped down alongside me and snatched up another poor bird from the ground. Acccckkkkkk! I know they need to eat, too, but that’s way harsh.
So check it out. This is really weird. I was on the phone about a week ago and I was talking about the hawks. I said that I was afraid that the stray kittens that come from the house on the next block (another long story) would get eaten by the hawks. Now I know this is technically possible but I was just musing that it could happen. I didn’t consider that it actually would.
But the very next day, my neighbor came to my door holding the most adorable blonde kitten and asked if it belonged to me. The poor thing had blood all over it’s head and I was all “What the hell????” According to neighbor guy, he walked outside and saw one of the hawks in the middle of the street, perched atop the kitten and pecking at his little head. He scared the hawk away and scooped up the kitten so it wouldn’t get attacked again. I offered to take the kitty to a vet but fortunately, the cuts were superficial and neighbor guy ended up finding it a home with the lady on the corner. Phew! Crisis averted.
Or so I thought.
We take care of a little cat. He was a feral stray when he first came around but now he is fairly tame. He’s about 7 months old and his name is Kitters. We have gotten him his shots, gotten him neutered etc. The only thing Kitters doesn’t do is come in our house. He’s afraid to come inside so he lives outdoors. A few months ago, I started noticing these bald, scabby patches on his head and neck that would come and go. I’d told my husband we needed to take him to a vet for his skin condition. Well, the other day, after the kitten incident, Kitters came around with 2 bald patches on the back of his neck, one with a red, bloody little hole in the middle and it hit me! He’s been getting pecked by the damn hawks! His only saving grace is that he’s probably just a little too big for them and has managed to get away. Fricken nasty birds!
Even more recently, I looked in the backyard and saw my cat, Bootsy, laying on the bricks and intently watching a small black racer snake. Now, I LOATHE snakes. I absolutely cannot stand them but I don’t want to see one get hurt so grabbed my camera and went outside to run Bootsy off. The snake started to move slowly and Bootsy pounced on it. I picked him up and moved him, holding him back with my foot while I snapped some photos. Then the snake zipped away and was out of sight in about 3 seconds so I guess he wasn’t hurt…
Nature is scary and amazing. I must be the only person alive freaked out by the sounds of crickets chirping at night. most find it soothing, but to me it indicates their power of numbers. EEEEEEEEeeeek and Eeeeeew.
Lisa
Um, YEAH!!! I would move too if that gator was in my backyard! My family is in Fl on a big lake area and they are alla round…YIKES. and I LOATHE snakes too…I wouldn’t even be able to get close enough to take a pic…i would FREAK! You are BRAVE!
Poor kitties! I don’t even LIKe cats (I am a dog person) but POOR POOR Kitties! :(
Fucking A - that’s a SMALL snake?!
And here I thought I was communing with nature out in the wild wild West. I’m such a poser.
jesus! its like mutual of omaha’s wild kingdom over there!
Hey,
I live in the city and see nature all the time…One night I was sitting on my front porch and I heard a chirping noise to see a mamma possom urging her baby possom along,bats a plenty, hawks. owls, even hummingbirds and one night I was on a stoll by the lake and saw a beaver…
Right beside a major waterway. Ilive in a city of 2+ million people… and somehow these critters live along side us just fine… ain’t mother nature in the city awsome????
Oh yeah, hawks will go after kittens all the time. In Ohio we have a lot of hawks, and while they usually go after rodents, they are quite happy with larger prey like kittens. During my husband’s last semester at Miami University, we watched a hawk swoop down onto a walkway and kill a large squirrel. If they’re hungry enough, and think they can beat the other animal, they’ll go for it. Hawks are amazing hunters.
The alligator pic is cool! But yeah, I wouldn’t live anywhere near one, I think.
We have a pair of bald eagles that nest on our acreage. I go through a lot of kitties. So far Fanny has survived. But I’m worried about Nixon. He’s pretty small. And stupid.
Don’t you just love nature? Especially, the snakes. My son catches them and brings them in the house to show me. I haven’t managed to beat that instinct out of him just yet….
This only confirms my status as a hopeless city girl, since the sighting of any of the creatures you just mentioned would have me hysterical and dialing 911.
I have never heard of a hawk going after a poor defenseless kitty….the nerve!
On the side, I just have to say I think it is way cool that you guys took care of a stray….very compassionate and responsible. I am with you, though..if there were alligators in my back yard, I’d move, too!
At first my immediate thought (as an Australian, but figuring that you are in the US) was “you have possums?” I thought the hawk stuff blew me away, but then you casually state that your parents have _alligators_ in their back yard!! Where is it that you live?!!
Yikes. Where the heck do you live? Great pictures though.
To echo Julie: That’s a SMALL gator?
Jeeeee-zus. The butterfly and bug are beautiful though.
Poor Kitties! I grew up in FL, just down the road from you in Sarasota, and when we go back home to visit family, we have to be very careful of being outside at night——when the alligators are moving from pond to pond in my mom’s neighborhood. Have you heard those things make their weird mating call???
We had a pair of hawks living in our forest of a back yard. When we first moved into our townhome, we had 5 squirrels. There are now none. We finally figured out where they were going when we saw the hawk scoop down and pick one up, take it to the branch of a tree it was residing in and proceed to eat it. Nasty business.
We spent a lot of time watching to make sure they didn’t pick up and take off with our cat. At the same time, we were constanting watching our cat to make sure she wasn’t bringing home her favorite snack, baby rabbits. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve rescued baby bunnies from her grasp.
We had a rule in our house. Never, ever let the cat in until you checked her mouth first. Once, she brought a mouse in the house. It was in her mouth (alive). We didn’t see it at all until she proceeded to open her mouth and play with it. It took us 5 days to trap that mouse.
Finally, we had the hawk AND our cat fighting over a rabbit. Talk about chaos!
Ah, nature.
Awesome pictures! My two year old is obsessed with crocodiles/alligators and loved that picture! We have a bunch of deer in our backyard, and my kids are bored with them now but I still think they are cool.
Great pics! Nature’s harsh (which reminds me…how close were you to that alligator???)
That is one zoo story you have going on. we have a hawk as well, but not nearly as vicious as the two you have. Those bugs were a bit creepy, and me, well I don’t mind bugs (exept roaches), but that close up was a bit much for me…felt they were staring into my soul. Think I need some sleep.
One reason why I’m happy to live in New England? We don’t get freaky wildlife like what you described. And our snakes are really, really small.
Poor little kitties, I hope they all grow up to be big cats and scare away the hawks.
I am not a huge snake hater, but if I found that snake in my backyard, I would need therapy.
I won’t even discuss the alligator. Cringe. Twitch. Hyperventilate.
You got some really great shots! We have snowy egrets in our yard all the time too and wild parrots, but I never have my camera when they’re around. Love the gator pic.
Who’d have thunk city life could be so…wild. Cool shots!
We have hawks too, but they can’t pick up my cat as he’s about 17 lbs of pure flub. Even on diet food. Plus, he tends to hide under the porch a lot when scary things are around. We also have a den of foxes in our woods, bunnies that the foxes hunt, and an occasional coyote. Hence kitty doesn’t go outside after dusk.
But if I had alligators, I’d move. They scare the crap outta me. But I once held a small 2 footer, and they are so SOFT. I understand why they make such comfy shoes!