My co-worker came in our office this morning and asked me if I had seen the bird outside. What bird I ask. She takes me downstairs and points out the window to where she had seen said bird. Gone. I opened the door and stepped out and saw a squirrel laying dead on the grass. Was the bird about this high I ask her gesturing with my hands to about 20 inches tall. Yes she says. It must have been a hawk I tell her as I scan the trees in front of us to see if it is perched up high. There it is I say pointing to a branch above us. If we are quiet, I tell her, it might come back for the squirrel. Of course it was 9 am and classes were changing and there were a bunch of students walking down the sidewalk and making what seem liked an inordinate amount of noise. After the crowds dwindled down and the noises subsided the hawk, as predicted, came back and continued dining on the squirrel. I watched from the window for a couple minutes and then quietly opened the door and stepped out. At that point I was 10 feet from it. The hawk did not seem bothered by my presence as it tore off strips of squirrel flesh and fed itself so I took a couple photos and watched it for a few minutes during which time several students, who have probably never seen a hawk before, shouted out and commented on what they referred to as one "big bird". I went back into the building and then went out the fire escape door on the opposite side of where the hawk was sitting and continued to watch it for a few more minutes until it flew off with the squirrel in its talons. Around noon time I went out again to run some errands and was walking down the sidewalk toward my car when I passed the base of a large tree and noticed that the hawk had returned to a different area the lawn and was dining on the squirrel again. I spoke to it and it regarded me cautiously and must have decided that I wasn't a threat as it continued to eat. This time I was much closer. I got my camera out of my purse, turned it on and took a few more photos. While I was standing there the noon tornado siren went off, and a bus with squeaky jake brakes pulled to the curb and the entire Ohio Northern University's women's soccer team, who was there to play our team in a tournament, exited and came by and took photos of the hawk on their cell phones. I could not believe that the hawk stayed put. I was pleasantly surprised that the students were all quiet and respectful of the hawk. I figure he/she came in on the remnants of hurricane Sandy and was so tired and hungry that it didn't care about the humans or it had been recently injured, rehabbed and released into the wild so it was accustomed to people. I've never seen a hawk behave in this manner before. Either way it was a real treat to be able observe and photograph it and it made my day. Later I saw that one of our students had posted on Facebook that he had actually seen the owl take down the squirrel. He called it epic! I concur. In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous-Artistotle.
