Watching a group of Mallards through my spotting scope feeding in the 1/3 acre pond some 50-60 or so yards off my front porch. Four drakes and four hens. There is another group of 15 in the pond, but don't know what kind. Not much experience identifying ducks. The Mallards were working the west edge of the pond and the others along the east shoreline. These ducks have all been hanging around here for the last several says.
My house is about 30' elevation above the pond. Watching the Mallards feeding from my open front door, with the scope set on about 12X, a flash quickly entered my field of view. Thought at first it was another duck joining the group. WRONG. Through the lens, the flash turns into a big Redtail hawk swooping in about a foot above the Mallards. It looks as if the hawk strikes one when it hits with a splash as the ducks wildly scattered. The hawk quickly recovered and wing hops to the pond dike. Thought for sure he had one. Pausing a few minutes, the predator then rises and wings into the the treeline some 15 yards south of the pond. Empty talons. Score: Ducks-1 Hawk-0. Never thought about a hawk trying for a duck meal in that manner. Won't forget the sight and sure wish I'd had a camera trained on them instead of my scope.
Several hawks call the woods around my place their home range. Pretty cool, but wish they would choose another place to hang out. Serious competition to me for the squirrels. These guys hunt the all the time, I hunt when the weather is mild enough to make it a pleasant morning in the woods.
If it weren't for the murder of crows also calling this area home, these great birds would have all the small game hunting to themselves.
