…as I caught him weighing his options to grab a Hadeda youngster.
The only problem for the hawk, was that the hadeda youngster sat next to his parents.
The juvenile African Harrier Hawk (Polyboroides typus) has become a regular visitor for the past few days, and his sharp, high-pitched whistle alerts me to his presence when we are at home. Thus far I have been able to prevent him from getting any prey, simply by loud noises and movement to ensure that he sees that I am around. The juvenile harrier hawks are beautiful, but in this guy’s case, beauty can become a deadly trap for any naïve animals, as the hawk can strike in seconds. This reminds me about the Samson and Delila story, as he paid dearly for her beauty and, in fact, it cost him his life. Someone said that beauty is skin deep, and I think that it’s the beauty of the heart that counts.
The hawk must have seen the same picture as what I saw here below. Three hadedas (Bostrychia hage-dash), sitting on a rooftop. Dad at the front, Mom behind him, and youngster at the end.
As I opened the sliding gate to get out with my camera, the hawk popped up on the edge of a lower roof to watch me coming out with my camera.
I walked around the house and have a look at how the hawk is watching the baby and me at the same time.
The hawk turned his head to see if it was really me, and the other eye was focused on the young hadeda.
Then the hawk looked directly at me.
But I wasn't going to take his nonsense, so I walked back around the house to my original position.
Finally, I approached the hadedas while clapping loudly with my hands. Thank goodness the father took off, and the two others followed.
No don’t get me wrong, as I am not saying that all beautiful ladies have ulterior motives, as I have been brought up to respect women, being a single parent child, and my mom was very strict. But there are many stories about beautiful women using their beauty for nefarious means. To get back to the hawk, I went back around the house again, and he was also gone. I know that he will not follow the hadedas as long as the parents are with the youngster, or maybe he will go and sit and watch from a tree for the youngster to wander off from the parents, and then he will fly down fast to grab him.
Such as life, as long as I don't have to see it.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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