Hawking eBay



Recently, San Jose's KNTV NBC 11 news ran a story about a family of Cooper's Hawks who have chosen the eBay corporate campus as their new home. My wife and I live right next to eBay and have also become familiar with these hawks. Just this morning we walked our mutt down that street and saw three of them; possibly the father and two offspring. We walked right below the nest, which is easily locatable by the huge white splotches on the sidewalk directly below it. We weren't attacked, and in fact, the birds-of-prey showed no interest in us at all. They have, however, shown a keen interest in all the other little critter residents of our neighborhood.

Prior to the hawks arrival, our dog's favorite pastime was barking at and attempting to chase the multitude of squirrels we would see on our walks. Since the hawks arrival though, the squirrels have "gotten out of Dodge." There are little squirrel tumbleweeds blowing down the fences and trees which they formerly used as their squirrel-expressways. Most of the pigeons, doves, and crows that also used to hang out in our forestry neighborhood have also fled the scene.

Our home is not air-conditioned, and so in the summer-time we usually sleep with the windows open. That means that we enjoy a symphony of bird-song in the early morning. We've become so accustomed to the racket that it no longer disturbs our sleep. But this morning we were awakened when the normal cacophony suddenly turned to dead silence, broken occasionally by the shrill hunting cry of papa and/or mama hawk. It was pretty amazing. Almost as if someone flipped a switch on a stereo, suddenly cutting the power and silencing the music. If you think news travels fast on the internet, just watch the neighborhood wildlife when a potent predator moves into the community!

Posted: Sun - July 20, 2003 at 11:36 AM          

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