Hawk's Prey

One of BeBe's favorite spots to play is at the top of the blinds in our Paladian window. He's actually quite clever and acrobatic. He'll jump from his play pen, up to the top of the entertainment center, climb up the curtain, and dangle out to grab the blind cords. Then, just like in the circus, balance on the strings and climb up them to the top.

Lately, he's been chewing on the blinds. I don't really like it when he does that, so I have been opening the blinds by pulling them all the way up so he can't chew on them. This makes for a clear view of Food Lion, brings in a lot of light, and apparently disguises the fact that there is glass in our window.

Thank goodness for glass because we wouldn't have a BeBe anymore if there hadn't been glass there. Imagine this sight:
This was the view that we got as a hawk glided down toward our window towards the spot that BeBe was sitting on at the top of the blinds.

Bam!

Fluttering.... Flapping... Falling....

Bam!

Squeeking and skwaking....

Yes, there are two Bams in there.

The hawk went for BeBe, BeBe saw it, freaked out and fell down. The hawk apparently still didn't realize that there was glass there, because when BeBe fell, it hit the glass again, thinking that he had just missed.

This is what would've gotten BeBe if the glass hadn't been there:

Yikes! Those look sharp.

Hawk dives always crack me up (except when they are freaking my baby, I mean, my BeBe, out). The other day, I was driving on the Durham Freeway and a low flying hawk comes swooping in over our lane. It grabs its prey right under the guard rail and in a swift move, goes through that hole under the rail.

When hawks dive for prey, it reminds me of a lady in a dress. The hawk lifts it's skirt of feathers to reveal it's teeny little chicken legs with over grown nails.

Anyways, this whole episode had poor BeBe freaked out. Rodney and I comforted him and just still looked through the window in amazement. The hawk, I guess, was unphased as we didn't see it lying on the ground anywhere in shock.

Well, I guess BeBe may be hanging out on his cage more than at the top of the window. At least until he truly realizes that he is protected. I know I probably would be freaked out if I were him too. It is like being in an aquarium and a shark ramming the glass right where you're at. You know there is glass there, but the innate instinct of predator versus prey is still quite scary.