Hey, You, Get Off of My Cloud
This afternoon as I walked up the road through our neighborhood in mild, sunny weather, a Red-tailed Hawk sat on top of a utility pole just outside the entrance to the subdivision. I had stopped to admire it when another Red-tailed Hawk flew up, chased it away, and took its place on the pole. I walked on, and when I came to the road that parallels the Old Field and began to walk along it, I saw the first hawk perched on another pole overlooking Hwy. 441. The second hawk left its pole, flew, and chased the first hawk away from this pole, too, again taking its place. The first hawk flew then to another pole, on the far southern end of the field, near the fire station. After only two or three minutes, the second hawk pursued it there, too, chased it away, and took its place on the pole.
The first hawk flew to yet another pole, a little further away, across the road. Apparently it wasn’t far enough. The second hawk again came to chase it away, and this time, instead of sitting on the pole, it flew after the first hawk – which it apparently considered an intruder – diving at it two or three times, and continuing to pursue it until they both flew out of sight beyond a line of trees.