I swear my back yard is a mini wildlife refuge. We've lived here for just over two years and I've seen things I've never seen before. Squirrels falling from trees (not just once, but 3 times), saw an owl in one of our trees last fall, and since living here, I've seen my first baby squirrel (by baby I mean tiny newborn kind) earlier this spring. A mama squirrel was running along the top of our privacy fence with one in her mouth. There seems to always be something out there for the dogs to bark at and chase.
So last Sunday, I was taking a nap & when I awoke & let the dogs out, I almost instantly saw them sniffing at what looked like an animal of some sort. I freaked and hubby came to take a look. It was a clump of about 3 bird feathers. He then proceeded to tell me that while I was sleeping he saw a hawk land in our backyard with a bird of some kind in it's grasp. It seemed that he had landed just long enough to get a better hold of what it had caught and then took off again. I wish I could have seen it...........hubby said it was about as big as the parrots (macaws?) that you see in the pet shop.
So cautiously we've had the dogs out under supervision and it wasn't seen again...............until yesterday afternoon. The dogs were out and I was on the patio calling them to come inside. I don't know what possessed me to look up, but there I saw him/her waaaaayyyyyy up high in the tree right above me! I got the fur kids in & went back out to see if I could get a better look, but it was gone from sight. I did notice how quiet it was.......no birds chirping in the trees and only one squirrel sitting low and very still on a board of the fence. I'm thinking he sensed the danger?????
So, after this loooonnnnnnnng story, all I really want to know is, when is this predator going to go away? Gosh darn if we don't have this wonderfully sized, privacy fenced back yard and I can't even feel comfortable about letting the kids out to play. Maybe I need to cut down a few of the 7 trees we have back there.
If it didn't cost an arm and a leg, I think I would seriously consider it.