The call gave them away, as when I heard it, I was out in a flash.
The female African Harrier Hawk (Polyboroides typus) was scouting around for a new nesting place.
I knew how to find them, as they love to sit in a giant Eucalyptus tree, and I often get them in the tree with their prey. In fact, I have shared them in some posts before. Now here's the trouble, as we have many species of birds that nest here in the advent of Spring, and if the hawks will nest in this tree, it means danger not only for the smaller birds, but also for the squirrels and their babies. So, I tried to make myself as conspicuous, as possible by coughing loudly and moving around. But I was way down below the tree, and I stood in the road.
The noise that I made finally counted, as the lady moved away to the back of the tree, and I could not see her anymore.
And there sat the husband higher up and unperturbed in the tree.
Now here's a lesson for all of us men. When a woman is doing something, then don't interrupt or criticize her. Even if you think that whatever she is doing is wrong. We have to put our pride in our pockets and realize that women are way cleverer than men :)
The husband here sets an excellent example for us, as he ignores her, and as the tree is in the crow's territory, the husband does his job by keeping an eye out for danger.
This guy looked straight at me, and instead of moving away, he popped down on a closer branch to have a better look at me.
And then he sat ignoring me as well, as he saw that I had left my wings at home, and that I was no danger to them, or maybe he was showing me his fist. :)
He seemed to say, Get away you noisy bugger, but I persisted and even waved my arms around, to draw his attention. So, eventually he nonchalantly followed his wife around to the back of the tree, and there was no way for me to get to the other side of the tree. I only hope that they won't decide to nest in that side.
Besides raiding nests, the hawks are big, and when they are around, the people put their small animals inside and the squirrels hide, as they all know that call even better than I do.
Such is life in the animal kingdom, and I hope that you enjoyed the pictures.
Pictures by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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