Low Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk on Shagbark Hickory, Charles River Peninsula, Needham, MA

For the second morning in a row I've avoided walking up the hickory hill at the CRP because it looked like someone was hanging out there. Yesterday, I spotted a gentleman with a gray brush cut. (It turned out to be the tail of a gray squirrel sitting on the fallen limb.) Today, a more dominating presence--a red-tailed hawk.

It is unusual to see a hawk sitting down so low.

It was evidently waiting for a squirrel to emerge from the hollows of the tree (perhaps my gray brush cut gentleman from the previous day).

And the hill provides an ideal prospect from which to see potential prey in the meadow.