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This past weekend I did a little story for the grand-kids base on some observations we had out at ST. James Farm a local forest preserve. I thought some of you might enjoy the last chapter. Of course it has pictures too. I did have to edit it a bit so it makes since without the missing chapters.

Hey That's My Tree!

I'd estimate, maybe about a futball field away I could see a squirrel sitting on a fence post while it was eating something. He looked like he was posing for a picture and I didn't want to disappoint the perfectly poised animal. We walked a bit closer and I zoomed him and shot this picture:

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Just to the right of this squirrel, you can notice a walnut tree (you'll have to just trust me, it is a walnut tree - it is still there, to see for yourself. A second squirrel, not pictured, is gathering nuts and taking them up into the tree. Standing where we were, it was interesting watching the activities but it got a lot more interesting as Red-tail appeared in the sky to our right side. The direction of the hawk's flight was in the direction of the squirrels. From our own previous observations in our own backyard, we know the squirrels are not afraid nor do they hide in the presents of these hawks. Sure enough the squirrel on the post kept eating his nut and the other squirrel continued his gathering. Well - at least until he spotted the hawk sitting in "his tree". Bold as can be, the squirrel approached the hawk, as you would perhaps an old friend - or maybe someone you are about to confront.

Getting to with in a few feet, say maybe 5 or 6 of them, then stopping to see the hawk's reaction, then dashing away a few feet and doing this over and over. In this next picture I circled the hawk's position. You can see where the squirrel is, heading away to the right.

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Here the squirrel is, once again, quite close to the hawk, which is still pretty much hidden from our view.

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The hawk then moves to be king of the hill, the squirrel retreats near the trunk.

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Hawk moves closer as in, "Maybe let's just be friends," or "Maybe just wait 'til I get my talons on you!" It is the squirrel's move, and the squirrel turns to the tree trunk.

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Story continues next post.

Not sure who won or if there was indeed a winner, or it could be that it was just fun play? After a bit more of the "game," the hawk decided to move along, up, up, and away.

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The squirrel went back to check "his" spot on the tree and to see if the hawk had damaged anything or taken any of his belongings.... all seemed well enough. Who knows for certain just what emotion the rodent experienced as well as emoted.

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After all this action I then checked back with the original squirrel, far as I know he was still on his lunch break.

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This is a true story, as I witnessed it. The interpretation, well it is a story you know.


Ed

That's just really cute, Ed. Nice pictures and a wonderful story. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thanks for posting it.

Ed
That Hawk must have just eaten.
The other day i was walking down the sidewalk and I noticed a Hawk flying low coming at me. It looked like it has something tangled up on its foot. I first thought of fishing line, which is a common occurance here in Florida. I can't tell you how many dead birds gulls, hawks, eagles, heron I have found dead tangled in the discarded fishing line.


But it looked fuzzy so I thought fishing line tangled with spanish moss. But as the Hawk came closer I saw it was squirrel and the thing flapping was its tail. The Hawk crossed my path about 20 feet ahead at eye level. He had the squirrel pointed in the direction of the flight I guess for less wind resistance. This made the Hawk have one foot in front of the other, with the squirrel hanging there like a torpedo on plane with a fuzzy streamer.

The Hawk then landed on a limb about 20 ft up in the air in a tree about 50 feet away and proceeded to dine on squirrel. He ate for about 10 minutes then flew off in the direction of his nest with the rest of the squirrel.

Looked to me like the Hawk could have finished the meal had he had a mind to.

I think that up around Chicago, where ED (reible) is from, hawks must have a license for squirrel. His hawk's had probably expired.

I have never lived where there were tree dwelling squirrels and hawks that might prey upon them.

Question: When squirrels develop a residence within the hollows of a tree, does the hollow tend to weaken the tree?

Is the hollow natural or does the squirrel do some excavating?

Don't laugh! These are honest questions from a desert dweller. The squirrel like critters here are "ground squirrels" and the hawks here...I don't know what they go after other than small house pets.

I STAND RIGHTLY CORRECTED. It has been pointed out to me by a very well respected member of this community that I have told an "untruth". I have lived in both the plains and the mountain country in Montana and there certainly are hawks (and eagles) there and with all that pine forest there are squirrels; an abundance of squirrels, at least in the western part of the state. One can only assume that where there are squirrels and hawks, one must be prey for the other.

Squirels move in to already existing holes in the trees, they also fill them with nuts.

The hollows do weakent he trees but how much depends on how big the hollow is.

dusty wrote: Don't laugh! These are honest questions from a desert dweller. The squirrel like critters here are "ground squirrels" and the hawks here...I don't know what they go after other than small house pets.

The hawks also eat rabbits and mice. Whats really interesting is the Eagles those sucker will pull up some huge animals off of the ground (think fawn )

If the tree has no hollows, the squirrels will build a large nest in forks of the tree. The outside is usually made of sticks and leaves very much like a bird nest and inside will be lined with leaves and soft grasses. Back about 40 years ago or so, would go hunting about daylight. You could shoot into the nest and then your partner could shoot the squirrel as it tried to escape. Yum! Fried squirrel and gravy with biscuits.

dusty wrote:I have never lived where there were tree dwelling squirrels and hawks that might prey upon them.

Question: When squirrels develop a residence within the hollows of a tree, does the hollow tend to weaken the tree?

Is the hollow natural or does the squirrel do some excavating?

Don't laugh! These are honest questions from a desert dweller. The squirrel like critters here are "ground squirrels" and the hawks here...I don't know what they go after other than small house pets.

While squirrels will take up residence in a tree hollow most build nest out of tree limbs twiggs. You see them up in the tree they look almost like wind fall at first then you notice it fairly round. I have two large oak trees in front of my house and one has a hollow that is slowly closing. The squirrels last year would crawl into it they never seemed to take up residence there but both trees have two nest apeice in them. One nest form last year and one new one.