I was stood at the kitchen sink this morning staring into space while the kettle boiled for my first coffee of the day when a little drama started unfolding.
This little chap (or chapess ... my eyes aren't that good), dashed into view hobbling past the window on three legs and obviously in a hurry.
His fur looked crumpled and there were grab marks on his little back. I quickly checked that Ginger was still in bed ... phew he was, no fault of ours then!!
He hobbled up the hill as fast as his three good legs would carry him .....
... and disappeared past the blackbird that was tucking into a breakfast of rosy red apple.
And then WHOOSH ...... a huge bird of prey whistled past in the same direction having to shoot up in the air as his wingspan wouldn't carry him through the gap!!
Rosy went berserk barking and bouncing about desperate to be let out to chase this beautiful but very unexpected flying intruder, Mavis, Suky and Ginger all shot out of bed and I just stood there transfixed ... there's was no way I could have got a shot of that with my camera it all happened much too quickly.
After a moment a little face appeared between the shed steps ......
... you could almost hear him saying ... "is it safe to come out now?" or maybe more like " ...WTF was that?"
It all unfolded in a minute and was a wonderful start to my day. A brief glimpse of the dramas that no doubt unfold over and over on our hillside, mostly unseen by us but impacting on little lives and livelihoods over and over. I can only guess that the little mouse had been caught and then dropped and the bird ....
... it looked like a Buzzard but I can't be sure, (we have seen them here before) had dropped it after an unsuccessful pick up. No doubt it was looking forward to a little titbit before a bigger breakfast and had tried to recapture his tiny prey.
I'm so glad I got to see all this and equally glad that we left the gap to the woodland relatively narrow, one little life saved, one startled Blackbird, and one squirrel that joined me in our ringside seats to a kitchen sink drama.
Sue xx
And one poor starving buzzard...? The food chain is not pretty, but necessary at all levels.
ReplyDeleteWith the amount of rabbits and squirrels on the hillside at the moment I doubt he went hungry for long. The rabbits lie basking in the sun all over the paddock during the day and they make easy pickings for a hungry buzzard, so you don't need to worry about birds of prey going hungry round here at the moment.
DeleteThis winter I was watching an injured blackbird hobbling on the snow, then swiftly a large hawk swooped down and grabbed his prey! It was hard to watch, even if that is nature at work!
ReplyDeleteI had to do some visits with work yesterday and a couple are in very remote areas. We pulled over in a back lane to check where we where and a buzzard swooped down on the freshly cut field next to us looking for lunch. The legs of the buzzard fascinate me, they look like they are wearing breeches.
ReplyDeleteIt is that part of nature that I'd rather not witness. Where one has filled it's belly and the other loses it's life.
ReplyDeleteWhere we live I often think I see wildlife "in distress" when they are actually just going about their daily business. That's until 2 dolphins were trying to beach themselves on our land. It makes me sick with worry and I feel totally helpless. We did get a rescue team together that time, but in the end they didn't survive.
Last week there was a white-tailed eagle on the rock in the water in front of our house. I observed him/her. Got in contact with the wildlife ranger and told him I was worried, because the eagle stayed there for a long time, being surrounded by a flock of magpies. He put my mind at ease and told me to just enjoy the sight, because it is a rare occurrence. So I did. :-)
It sounds like you live in a wonderful place :-)
DeleteWhat an interesting morning you had . . . quite the adventure :)
ReplyDeleteThe rest of the day has been busy but pretty boring in comparison. Batch soup making and a spot of weeding .... the drama is all over, thank goodness ;-)
DeleteBlimey - not your average morning moment! We have a bird of prey here in suburban Surrey. I hear it mewing above me sometimes. I'm glad we don't still have our free range rabbit and guinea pigs!! Fortunately the chickens are 'protected' by a lot of overhanging branches. Doesn't stop the foxes of course, but one style of attacker is enough!!
ReplyDeleteI was in the garden all weekend and was entertained by a pair of Red Kites hustling a solitary Buzzard out of their territory.
ReplyDeleteWhat an exciting morning. Lovely photos!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun post today with your little drama outside the kitchen window. Such a cute little guy would have been breakfast for that bird!
ReplyDeleteHad to smile thinking of what a shock that poor blackbird must have had! A very sweet story, an unexpected start to the day indeed. We have an eagle that lives on a small island in the big lake we live by. He sometimes swoops past our lounge window, magnificent for me, terrifying for all tiny creatures nodoubt. Pam in Norway
ReplyDeleteIt is a grey squirrel I think. Our buzzards eat a lot of them! Exciting stuff!
ReplyDeleteNope, it was definitely a mouse, a very small one at that. I got a real good close up when he was nearer to the kitchen window before I started taking any photos. :-)
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