41. Heidi Cook,

This hawk showed up at the end of August. 

In the bottom photos you can see all the hummingbirds around the feeder, which we have since learned at Leamings Run are not good for the birds,.

  The birds were going from the big Lilac bush to the feeder.  The Hawk jumped in the bush to get the birds.  He showed up again about 2 weeks later, across the street in the neighbors' yard, perched on a squirrel. 

I went out to my porch to take a photo, but he didn't like me being there.  He went up into a tree and stared me down.

I went back in the house so he could finish his meal. He said," Turn that smile into a frown, with my bloodied talons I'll seek and hunt you down"

(Ed.: Pictured are two different hawks...a Cooper's Hawk and a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk!)  Can you tell which is which?

42. Ally McDonald, Central City , Kentucky

 

Crow

The bird is black

Looking for a snack

Flying through the air

with not a worry or a care.

 

 

43. Nancy Landrum, Moline, Ohio

When the woodpeckers can no longer resist the temptation of the seductive peanut array on my front porch, they will reluctantly land, and it appears to me that since they spend most of  their waking hours walking on the sides of trees, these Cirque du Soleil performers find it most ungainly  to walk or balance on flat surfaces. I know nothing about these fellows, but it seems their feet are designed for climbing and not walking. They appear quite uneasy and seem to tilt backwards. One day a Red-bellied female was awkwardly balancing on the porch, when she was approached by a few bold House Sparrows. As one Sparrow reached out to retrieve a peanut right in front of the lady Woodpecker's beak, she opened her beak and grabbed his beak and held it shut. The Sparrow was amazed and backed off for a second allowing the sweet Red Belly to gain her treasure. Really, the House Sparrows act like they are the kings of the feast and seldom will a Blue Jay drop down from a tree when the Sparrows are feasting. I guess they didn't learn the Red Belly's tactics, or the Sparrows would starve, or at least take down the false idol they have erected to Mr.Peanut.

All the birds were used to getting Planter's dry roasted peanuts, but one day I had some normal party peanuts with some of the red hulls attached, and  they just were so confused at what this peanut could be with it's dangling hull and  oily surface. At first they all left them alone and it took a few days before the first bold bird took a chance at what he deemed could be poison. Ah, you have to love them, don't you?

44. Margaret Hasselwander, Albany, NY

Story-
_Survival of the Crow_
Crows have no sense of time
they look at the world and see...the future

Why do they live in a void if they have this privilege?

Because they look at the world with one eye, and then the other eye, with a cross-eyed.

If you look deeply enough into a crow's eye, you can find the entrance to the supernatural.
I have mastered the art of "shape-shifting".
Crow feathers are beautiful and remind me of the spirits flesh.
For those of you who are unaware the crows' shadow ate the crow, and the crow is now Dead Crow!

 

 

45. Lizzie Gombas, NY

(inspired by art work at her school) 

 

Devastation
I have no home,
No place to stay,
Since that day of devastation, the day the volcano
Erupted so suddenly. I flew away and watched in
Anguish as my home became nothing but ash.
I have no home,
No place to stay,
Since that day of devastation,
The day the lava came flooding in,
Like a red sea, swallowing up the land.
I have no home,
No place to stay, since that day of devastation.

 

46. Ben Landrum, Moline, MO

We were in Pacific, MO, tonight around 11:30 PM and noticed a massive flying creature, not once but three times. My son even noticed it on his own the third time. We were near a large cliff/mountain with some type of cave openings. We don't live in the area, I can say for sure we turned onto a road called Viaduct Road, went past a fire station and continued on for about 1 mile before we first noticed it. It was brownish/grey and the body portion was at least the size of a large adult human. This creature was tracking us - in a circle pattern. We were driving an Escalade with the blue color headlights and this may have cause interest in us. The third time around we viewed it in front of the vehicle, around the driver side and around towards the rear of the vehicle. The factory tinted windows did help it vanish into the sky from our point of view.

 

Please understand when we could see it the range must have been about 150 feet in the air, not more than 250 feet. The distance was never less than 100 yards, often much greater. We were going about 35- 45 MPH. I have never thought of anything like this in my life! Afterwards at  3:33 AM  my son and myself were wide awake in a hotel, 17 miles away from the place we first noticed the creature. Please notify me if you become aware of similar sightings. Thanks.

 

Comments from Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

• it is hard to judge size and distance when looking up into the sky...there is nothing to compare to visually (Kevin McGowan)

• large birds one might see in Missouri at night include owls and Black-crowned Night Herons. (Kevin McGowan)

• a six-foot human would require wings the size of those on a small airplane to stay aloft in flapping flight..now that would be a memorable sight! (Kevin McGowan)

• maybe it was a Turkey Vulture coming in to roost. They spend time above roads late in the day to catch faint thermals. Their wingspan is similar to that of a human's arm-span, which does indeed make them look huge, especially when shadows loom.
  (Laura Erickson)
  
• Alternatively, it could have been an owl confused by headlights. Great Horned Owls weigh barely 4 pounds, but have a wingspan comparable to our arm-span; the heaviest owls on the planet--Snowy and Eagle Owls, virtually never make it to 5 or 6 pounds. (Laura Erickson)

Photo of Barn Owl by Jim Burns

47. Wendy Xie, NYC, 6th grade

Crows
A murder of crows
  In the darkness at night
      What are they doing? 

A mother hawk lands on the balcony.
  Making a nest with hats and jewelry.
  Hatching an egg from so high up.
  Uh oh! Whooooooooooo  plop!
    The egg hatched on a hat!
 "Oh my goodness," cried the woman.

 

 A Crow used for MURDER

    Someone killed Kevin the lawyer.
     The police is trying to catch the murderer.
       The murderer caught a stray crow.
       The crow tries to break free.
      The police are catching up.
          The murderer tied the gun to the crow and set the crow free.
         The crow flew away into the air.
           The polices caught the murderer but they didn't have the gun.

                                          The evidence flew away.

48.  Connie and Peter Roop, Appleton, Wisconsin

 

49. Kelly Vavala, Schenectady, NY

 

Dead Body Guards

Why do you linger
In the
graveyards
at night?

What are you
waiting for?
Why don't you
take flight?

Do you watch
over the
Dead,
Making sure
they don't
Rise?

Still Black Birds
dark branches
Glaring, and
Wise.

Do you try
and see
beneath the
dirt and green grass?

Are you
angry
that they're
Buried,

And cannot
feast
on their
carcass?

 

50. Joanne Menchini, NY

I volunteer at a major zoo in NYC and also teach ecology for the local County Parks system.  I love to get an opportunity to dispel myths about animals and increase our perception of connectedness with all life especially the ones we know least about.

 

Bats and spider, owls and crows
Why we’re scared, no one knows.
Creeping, sweeping through the night,
Nocturnal animals give us a fright.
Bugs and slugs, insects galore;
Overrun if they were no more…
Bats and spiders, owls and crows
Why we’re scared, no one knows!

 

 

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