Today was action packed! I knew I was going to be running around like crazy today and I didn't get off to a good start last night. Bill took me to see Sin City (very good, although a bit more violent than Kill Bill). Anyway, a movie that doesn't make you want to fall asleep right away. Then I had A Balanced Breakfast with Ian and Margery Punnett at 5:45am (I need to get a later gig). Yesterday my KARE 11 segment got bumped because of the Pope's funeral, so it was rescheduled for this morning and then right after that I had a meeting with the bird store owners. I think the combination of the movie last night, writing deadlines, getting up early and having to go to a meeting with the owners and a tight schedule just made me get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I was so nauseous.
Anyway, while getting ready for work, I sat on the couch with Non Birding Bill applying some finishing touches to my makeup. Our couch faces window and shows the apartment buildings behind ours and beyond that are trees from a park. I glanced out the window and saw some movement from a large bird. My first reaction was that the bird was a crow, then it dawned on me that the bird was moving it's head up and down like the hawks at The Raptor Center do when they are feeding.
The view out our apartment window, the circled area is where I noticed the raptor feeding.
I went to grab my binoculars and realized my good ones were in the car (it's migration and it's best to have the binos in the car at the ready). I grabbed my old pair and they revealed an adult female Cooper's hawk eating something with feathers. I thought she was eating a robin and Non Birding Bill thought she was eating a pigeon (Bill was even interested in watching this one, he even used binoculars--I'm so proud). Whichever it was, it was large and I figured I had time to run down to the car and grab my Stokes binos. I did and digi scoped this image:
Look at those big red eyes! I think accipiters are my favorites.
I got so caught up with the Cooper's hawk I completely lost track of time so my hair was a mess as I raced off to KARE--but the upside was that my nausea was gone. Nothing like a raptor ripping the heck out of some songbird to settle your nerves.