The Cooper’s Hawk and I continue our daily face off.

He glares at me from atop the fence.
I glare at him from the window.

I open the door to shoo him away.
He takes his sweet time in departing.

I add extra wire to protect my aviary of doves.
His talons puncture the new wire as soon as my back is turned.

I search for tools to reinforce the wire.
He sits atop the fence and watches me.

The extended drought prompts his brazen visits to my garden.
He has nothing to lose by remaining persistent.
I have everything to lose if he kills my doves.

Will I outsmart him by reinforcing the aviary?
Or, will eons of astute raptor hunting skills outsmart me?

The doves remain skittish.

I remain anxious.

The hawk remains hungry.






An excerpt from Where the Red Tailed Hawk Flies
Copyright © 2009 by Gabriella Graham/Red Tailed Hawk Publishing/All rights reserved