Close Raptor Encounters - A Hawk on My Deck!

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I live near a lake, so we get some interesting wildlife. Deer go rambling through my yard, blissfully munching the landscaping, much to my husband's discontent. But we aren't out in the country, by any stretch--really just the suburbs, basically. There's plenty of commercial development within a mile of my house, and we live in a typical subdivision. I have seen plenty of songbirds in the backyard, and a smattering of fat, sassy ravens. But one of my coolest sightings was of a hawk who perched on my deck railing. To see a wild hawk so close just filled me with awe. That was on the day of President Obama's first inauguration--we were watching the ceremony when we saw the big guy out on the deck, and I couldn't take my eyes off him until he flew away. I wanted to take a picture, of course, but I was absolutely sure that while I was going to fetch my camera, he would leave, so I satisfied myself by just enjoying the sight of the magnificent bird for as long as I could. It was snowing that day, and I guess he'd had slim pickings, so he might have seen some of the smaller songbirds coming to our suet feeder (he landed right under it). They made themselves scarce while he was around!