That's a really sad story about your friend's little Chihuahua's demise by a hawk, so sad. The thing that gets me about those large predatory birds is that they are not afraid to swoop in to grab their prey while adults are around and close by. I am glad you are so cautious and careful with your Chis. I don't think you can ever can be overly careful, do you? Wow, you're a wildlife photographer, that's impressive! I am too, but a backyard, park, and the most amateurish photographer ever, but that doesn't stop me, lol. I just got a new camera and am really hoping to learn to use all aspects of it. I too find the large birds so beautiful in their own right. We went to a bird show in Ann Arbor, Michigan last fall when I still had my little parakeet, and there was a talk being given by a young vet about large birds, their traits and characteristics. He brought 3 different large birds; a raptor, a kookaburra, and a great horned owl. The first two birds were very interesting, the raptor was actually comical, but the great horned owl that he walked up and down the single aisle with on his protected arm was quite something, and a thrill to see something that magnificent just a touch away. His head could and did swivel around almost 360, and his eyes were stunningly huge and rightly so. The vet explained they really don't have much at all upstairs in the brains department but their eyesight is unsurpassed. He said if a baby bunny was at one end of a football field and a g h owl was at the other, without the bunny making a sound or movement, the owl would be able to spot it on a pitch black night and have it faster than you could imagine. I think you're right about not being able to see owls at night, because sometimes when I go out and sit on our deck at night, I have heard their "whooo" sound, but did not see anything at all and it was intimidating enough to make me decide to come inside. And I've read they are not picky about where they live, it's everywhere; woodlands, farmlands, deserts, from Canada to Mexico and coast to coast, so be careful all chi owners. Lynn p.s when my children were small and they loved parakeets, while we were buying them each one, there was a large parrot for sale and the kids wanted to pet it, but the sales clerk cautioned us he wasn't too friendly and that their beak bite can have about two hundreds pounds of pressure behind it. No wonder small dogs and cats are so often defenseless against large predatory birds with their bite and their talons. In a message dated 5/4/2011 5:07:07 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
Scarey!!! A six pound dog isn't teeny tiny like many of our Chihuahuas. So so, that Pom was very lucky to get away. We have a lot of hawks around here, and I'm always on guard. As a wildlife photographer, I find hawks and other raptors, gorgeous critters. _http://www.pbase.com/britestar/hawks_ (http://www.pbase.com/britestar/hawks) However, I want to admire them FAR away from my home. I have never taken a photo of a hawk in my neighborhood because I'm always too worried about the danger they pose for my little ones - even when the dogs are safely in the house. If hawks would find other prey close to the house, they would then be bound to return to the same area as a hunting ground. So I'm forever watchful as to exactly what trees they stop in. Even when we're out on our deck with the Chis, I go into panic mode if I see a hawk close by in the sky. So I quickly wisk the dogs inside. A friend of mine had her 2 1/2 pound Chi tragically killed by a hawk at a Chihuahua gathering. The dogs were a little bit away from their owners in a public park, but still well within sight. Out of nowhere, a hawk suddenly swooped down and attempted to scoop up the little 2 1/2 pounder. It was a small hawk, and he wasn't able to take off with the Chi. However, he did break her neck. Owls frighten me just as much. Plus you can't see them in the dark. Liz
