Eagle seen near Tufts

[olszowka.livejournal.com]

On my way to work this morning around 9:00a I saw a large bird of prey which I think was an eagle attacking a small grey squirrel on the sidewalk of Powerhouse Blvd.  I pulled my car over to watch, but the eagle just sat there with the squirrel struggling in its talons.  After about 20 seconds the squirrel stopped moving and the eagle took off and flew over the Tufts soccer field.

Comments

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

It was probably a red hawk, I see those all the time!

Definitely

[olszowka.livejournal.com]

I looked on the web for photographs of the red tailed hawk and they match well. They are also known as chicken hawks.

Re: Definitely

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

They aren't uncommon in the area. I've seen them flying over the Davis T stop.

Re: Definitely

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

I thought chickenhawks were warmongering politicians with zero military experience (because they got deferments out the wazoo).

A picture taken at just the right time

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/16889258@N03/2783581392/)

Re: A picture taken at just the right time

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

WOW!

[jamiesquared.livejournal.com]

Speaking of birds- I have seen a ton of dead birds lately while walking the dogs. Ive also noticed a lot of pigeons which for a long time I didn't see at all.

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

What kind of birds? Crows? I know they've found West Nile Virus in Somerville mosquitoes on at least two occasions recently.

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

Did it have a white head? Bald eagles hang out around here in the winter and are pretty obvious.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Could have been an eagle--we saw an eagle in Mount Auburn Cemetery a while ago, and according to a birder friend it's been hanging out there quite a bit.

[purpless77.livejournal.com]

Um, thanks for the horrific details. It might be nature but not all of us care to read such sad stories. I stopped reading in part if it but it was more then enough. And the photo someone posted is poor taste.
I agree that it was most likely a hawk which have unfortunately become more and more common. They do get mistaken for eagles a lot though.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

Hawks have "unfortunately" become more and more common? What's unfortunate about that? They help keep the vermin populations down. And they're gorgeous creatures.

[nora-rocket.livejournal.com]

"not all of us care to read such sad stories"

And not all of us think a raptor finding nourishment is sad. Also, not all of us care to project things like "sad" on to animals. Also, not all of us would say that hawks becoming more and more common is unfortunate.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

[richips.livejournal.com]

i'm on your side. hurray for the world getting desensitized. ugh.

[ron_newman]

And some of us like reading about the animal world, and seeing pictures of it, even in the less-than-natural environment of Somerville.

[rufinia.livejournal.com]

If you "don't care to read such sad stories" maybe you shouldn't be on the internet where you don't have total control over everything that gets posted.

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

Horrific? I sure hope you have never killed one ant, one gnat, one fly, or one crawly-creepy insect in your entire life. You had better have been a Vegan your entire life. Otherwise you are a hypocrite. Death in nature is part of life in nature. Human beings have, in their infinite poor wisdom, destroyed much of what nature has to offer. Witnessing a raptor able to feed itself in Somerville is a minor miracle. I suggest you go back to your sanitized lifestyle, and remember all those germs you are killing (and thus, in your infinite wisdom, causing your own self to become more prone to infection).

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

Actually, the really sad story of the morning might be that about a block away from the hawk, there were two Tufts police officers directing traffic (at Packard, I think). There seemed to be car involved, but I didn't see any broken glass or damaged car parts, so it made me wonder if a pedestrian or bicycle got hit. (There was no ambulance when I was there either.)

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

I saw a hawk under a tree on Powder House Blvd. this morning. It was on the Tufts side of the street. I didn't see a squirrel, but perhaps it was the same bird?

There is a hawk that you can often see perched on various buildings around Tufts. Also, I once saw a hawk on a light post in Davis Square near the Rite Aid.

[unsi-sempai.livejournal.com]

I've seen that hawk (or a close relative, perhaps?) perching in the Tufts area several times. It's really gorgeous!

[david-grana.livejournal.com]

I've seen a bird of prey once or twice on the BU campus, once at 44 Cummington, and another on Comm Ave. Never saw it go after any critters, though; it'd just stand there, looking at folks for a while before taking off.

[maelithil.livejournal.com]

That hawk is awesome. And, seriously, I'd rather squirrels got eaten by hawks than end up squished under some car's tires.

saw two neat MaxPac

[el-cubano-15.livejournal.com]

There was a red-tail hawk on the utility pole in front of my house near MaxPac eating a pigeon last week. It was gorging on that thing for like 45 minutes until another hawk showed up. It was awesome. At one point, 10-12 people on my street were checking it out.

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

Last year I watched a hawk in my backyard spend about a half hour eating a bird. I got some good pictures, but nothing like the great picture above!! After it flew away, the yard was littered with feathers!! I have to say, I would have enjoyed watching the hawk take down a squirrel - it's one less squirrel crawling around in my eaves!!
Also, last spring, there was either a hawk or an eagle nesting in a windowsill at Somerville High!