True Stories of Nuisance Animal Removal
So Ryan is up on a roof trapping squirrels on Saturday. He’s using live traps.
There’s a squirrel in one trap and in the other trap there is a small bird…a tufted titmouse to be specific.
We occasionally catch birds in live traps as they go in to check out the available food offerings. It’s generally no problem. We get them out and they go on their merry ways.
.
Ryan says to himself, “That’s cool I’ve never had a tufted titmouse in a squirrel trap…I’ll take a picture of it before I left it go.”
So Ryan reaches into the trap and gently takes the bird in gloved hand to get it out of the trap and take the picture.
With his other hand he’s trying to shed the other glove in order to be able to fish his phone out of his pocket.
Out of nowhere…whoosh…a Cooper’s hawk flashes in and attempts to grab the bird WHILE IT IS IN RYAN’S HAND.
Ryan instinctively shakes his hand dislodging the hawk…remember he’s working off a ladder and a roof.
The hawk flies off to a nearby perch and a surprised Ryan processes what just happened.
Bad news for the little bird, the hawk has struck an apparent mortal wound…it’s not doing well.
Ryan climbs down the ladder and places the injured bird on the ground. Then nature takes its course.
After 30 seconds to a minute, the hawk swoops down and finishes the job. The hawk had found its next meal on a cold January’s day.
To us the moral of the story is that hunger is a powerful motivator. The hawk must have been pretty hungry and really focused on that bird in the cage trap to have swooped while the bird was in Ryan’s hand.
Squirrels (and birds) in live traps have attracted hawks’ attention before but this is the most aggressive display we’ve witnessed to date. Hawks usually give humans a wider berth.
Nature never ceases to amaze!
