The Heron and the Hawk

The bird hunting a locust is unaware of the hawk hunting him.”

~ Portugese

We were heading back to the car after a wonderful walk in the park - herons, wildflowers, friends, silly dogs - when we noticed one of the Red-tailed Hawks, so common in this park, perched on a pecan tree high above the creek bank.

Clearly a Buteo, but was it one of the Red-shouldered Hawks who make this park home?

The early morning sun makes all birds "red"

But it was definitely a Red-shouldered Hawk

The hawk took off and flew downward - low along the creek. Then the outraged squawking of a Great Blue Heron filled the air. I held my hand up to my sister, silently asking her to wait, as I hustled over to the creek.

We saw four Great Blue Herons and one Green Heron on this hike.

The squawking continued. Was the hawk attacking the heron? This made no sense to me (I envisioned shish kabob of hawk pierced on the sharp beak of the heron) and I was compelled to try and witness the drama that was being played out on this cool Thursday morning in the usually quiet park. Life and death on Nolan Creek?

Before I could find my way through the brush to the water the heron could be heard and seen as it flew up and away to the north.

I turned away as well. I couldn't break through the bushes to the creek bank and heard no more noises. There seemed to be nothing left to investigate.

We talked about the birds on the way to breakfast and came up with a plausible explanation....the heron, an expert hunter, had likely secured a catfish or turtle in the creek and was proceeding to prepare it for the big swallow (I've often watched herons and egrets beat the prey senseless before swallowing). Our sharp-eyed young hawk observed the catch and decided to take advantage of an opportunity for an easy breakfast swooping down and stealing the heron's catch. A battle ensued. The heron retreated. The hawk won.

Was there really a battle? Who won? Who knows?

We know the heron flew away. We did not see the hawk again and suspect it was taking its time with a stolen fish or turtle breakfast on the bank of the creek.

What else did we see? Here you go:

Purple Leatherflower vine I have been watching all summer. Yes, I have gathered seeds.

Frostweed

It is a tall stand of frostweed. Now if we will just have a hard freeze this winter and if I will remember to head to the park to see the frostweed do its thing.*