Yesterday I stalked the hawk who had moved into the barn for a few days hunting. Taking photographs of suspicious flying raptors is a very different concept from taking a photo of a cow as she stands and leans and stares. However, even without the right lens or light, I amused myself for a while. Bob from Texas Tweeties (my blog resident bird watcher, who is well worth watching himself, if you like birds, which I do) has told me that he (or she) is either a Coopers Hawk or the smaller Sharp Shinned Hawk. They are almost exactly alike though the Sharp Shinned Hawk (try and say that eight times in a hurry) is a bit smaller. 
All the cats were thrilled to be hauled back to the house and locked inside. They were literally and I mean literally climbing the walls in the barn to hunt the new guy, everyone was in a high state of agitation and someone would have lost an eye! These guys are lethal hunters and need to eat every day. There would have been tears before bed time. 
I sat in the barn with my camera propped on my knees for ages, until my arms ached (like a real bird watcher) and soon he began to fly to and fro.
There is very little light up that high in the barn. I am sitting on a kind of cat walk very high up in the eaves. 
We had opened the big doors in the hope that he would fly out so we could get on with mucking out. He got quite frantic when we started to work in the barn yesterday so we had to abandon the floors until he vacates the premises.
He seemed disinclined to oblige. He has the sweetest little call too. He would fly quite close and sit and watch me (wondering if I were food) then cheep. More of a bop actually. Such a tiny sound for so formidable a bird. 
So I just kept practising my wildlife photographs. You can see that I am sitting about 60 feet from this window. Lamenting the loss of my old zoom lens. 
They fly very fast, you cannot track this bird. I have many shots of empty space. 
The shot below is from earlier in the day when the sun was shining straight into the barn and even blurred with speed he is a magnificent bird. 
As a special thank you for the accomodation he decided not to kill any of my chickens, and the guineas lay low all day after screaming their heads off (wah, wah, plonk) half the morning. The barn was completely empty of pigeons all day too, though there was evidence of night time snacking! By evening it was quiet. So without fanfare he must have swooped low, seen the big open doors and silently moved on.
And so it dawns again – a Sunday morning. The weather man writes that there will be lots of sunshine today, which is good as the little plants in their little paper seed catalogue pots are once again lined up at the door awaiting their rides to the outside. I ran out of newspaper the other day and made plant pots from the pages of actual seed catalogues. The irony does not escape me!
Good morning.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
75 responses to “Hawk sets up Housekeeping in the Barn”
Beautiful shots of the hawk!
I love them too Rosemary though I am sure the pro’s will look askance at each other! I was never going to get clarity so i did not even try.. it was more fun to go for personality!! c
It is you against the whole nature thing. I laugh every day hearing about your sagas.
We certainly get all kinds, I do seem to have something to report every day lately! Which is fun! c
Hi Cecilia. Fab photos. We get quite a few hawks flying above where the chickens are. My cockeral growls at them and then dives for cover! He is a bit of a gutless wonder! lol! Have you ever tried toilet roll cartons for the seedlings.
Regards Florence x
I will try toilet rolls, they are probably good for tomatoes!. Morning Florence! c
wonderful for sweet peas, too!
I was so glad to see more pictures of your uninvited guest! I know nothing of American birdlife, but his general shape and specially the tail feathers reminded me of a Kestrel – see my blog http://vivinfrance.wordpress.com/2010/11/15/1189/.
that was a beautiful poem Viv, this hawk sits on posts usually, or in trees, watching for little birds, we need to ask Bob whether they hover about above the ground searching .. they do eat mice and such as well .. c
Great pics – really emotive. They somehow benefit from the lack of a zoom lens. I’ve seen so many close ups of raptors, but seeing the bird against the window light in your amazing old barn says so much more about your hawk.
Thank you Roger, you can see the wildness of the creature and maybe some of his fear of being trapped.. c
Elusive though he is to the lens, this hawk is a beautiful fellow. I love that you spared the time to commune with him a bit before his departure.
i was lucky enough to have all kinds of rickity strructures to climb through to get a good view point.. getting up there with him was the key i think! c
I must not gush, I must not: but a hawk in the barn? Your pictures – especially the one i front of the window- are amazing, Celi; and I love the way you chose to allow this spectacular tenant to stay despite the risk to some of the other barndwellers. Just adored this post: a very special moment at the farmy…
Thank you Kate, with so many caged domestic animals it is wonderful to have a visit from the Wild Ones.. c
You know he was tormenting you intentionally!
He was probably wondering whether i would taste better roasted or poached! Or maybe he was as nosey as i am.. c
It’s a good thing your cats were overruled by someone with more sense!
They were attracted by his initial panic, Once they were gone he settled down considerably! But that Mary’s cat was literally walking up a vertical post in his attempt to meet with the heavily clawed birdie.. c
Glad you grabbed the cats. Do you think it was a young bird just thrilled to shelter and a few easy snacks? Glad he was kind enough not to be a rude guest and eat the chickens…and not overstay his welcome. Great pictures
If the cats had taken him on they would have lost for sure.. but it certainly was a thrill to see such a big wild bird up so close.. c
Some lovely pics, especially like the 2 silhouettes in the window.
We have loads of young buzzards around our garden eyeing up our ducks at the moment.
Keeping an eye on them.
Cheers
Marcus
I did not realise that buzzards killed to eat as well, i though they were carrion eaters, we have a few but not many, buzzards are so BIG and scary looking.. they probably just frighten their prey to death! c
We have buzzards too but they hunt in the open fields. It’s the crows who do the killing on our patch! And a sparrow hawk who terrorizes the wee wild birds!
Christine
How exciting!
It was a lovely encounter! Morning Mad ( I love saying Morning Mad – it has quite the ring to it!!) c
😉
I think that Sharp Shinned Hawk was deciding whether to take you on… and thought better of it with your camera flashing at him! You are so patient to sit cramped waiting for the perfect shot… the sign of a true photographer. My friend (also a photographer) says you must do this because the perfect photo is there one second and gone another. You’ve captured that second!! Love your photos today, c! I’m a bird lover as well!
No flash, but he was frightened. He did settle down though which was weird, and that little peep he made was so endearing.. c
Ahhh, scared little, um, big guy!
Throughout your whole story I was hoping to hear that he (or she) liked the farmy so much it was going to adopt you! Then we could hear each day how it had made friends with the chickens (instead of hunting them) and rode around on Daisy’s back, plucked the straw off Mama’s coat, and sat on your shoulder while you did your morning chores. Ahhhh…wishful thinking, I guess. Back to reality! Enjoy your day! 🙂 ~ April
and he would also make a pledge to only eat mice, rabbits or pigeons (who eat all my chook food) that would be a useful bird to have about. Well, we are allowed our little dreams aren’t we April! Good morning! c
Considering your circumstances, the fact that you got several very good photos of your visitor is really quite remarkable! He’s a real beauty, isn’t he? Glad he found his way out of there before any harm came his way. Besides, Daisy has enough feathered company. A hawk in the rafters just wouldn’t do.
Hope you get a chance to enjoy the day. like you hawk, it’s going to be a beaut. 🙂
Exactly, Daisy would not have the patience for the kerfuffle that a visiting hawk would make.. And it is afternoon now and I have been outside most of the day.. quite splendid! c
I am very glad to hear that your *guest* choose not to dine on your chickens. They are lovely images C.
Thank you, and yes it surprised me that he did not take a fine fat hen, Houdinis chickens are looking tasty!!