red-tailed hawk perching

red-tailed hawk perching

on an old wooden tailgate,

scanning for a meal

The red-tailed hawk doesn't immediately fly away when I stop the truck, posing just long enough for me to go from landscape to closeup. It looks like someone set up a perfect still life, the triangular red and white slow-moving-vehicle sign, the weathered wooden boards of the old tailgate, the stripes of the gray metal shed and the roundness of the turquoise disk, all contrasting with the soft curves and vibrant aliveness of the hawk. I'm still in zoom mode and not fast enough to follow when my model finally takes flight, displaying its distinctive red-orange tail.
          Red-tailed hawks will perch on anything that gives them an elevated view as they scan for prey, whether it's a bare treetop, a signpost or a telephone pole. Usually they prefer open fields, but last spring, a red-tailed hawk built a nest in a tree by a creek on campus and began attacking pedestrians who crossed the nearby foot bridge, dive bombing and pecking heads. Soon an urgent email went out warning students to avoid the bridge while she was nesting. 
          Then this fall, a red-tailed hawk, perhaps the same one, bashed into one of the glass windows of the golden dome while a group of us were meditating inside. I jumped at the sound and ran to the window to see a very large bird standing on the ground, looking a bit dazed, but she quickly flew off. Then a week ago she was perched on the low fence outside the student center, peering into the bushes. Bunny rabbits, beware!
          Must be tough to raise a family and hunt for food with so many humans around, but she seems to be prospering. A good sign, when wild creatures and tame ones can live together in relative peace.