True Story ~ Close Encounter With A Hawk!

I came across this small bird just sitting in the grass in my backyard the other day.  I actually walked past him within less than a foot and he never moved.  I didn’t even see him on my first pass by, but noticed him when I walked back.  He sat there for about 20 minutes as I crouched near him, speaking soothing words to him.  He moved his head, back and forth and luckily I caught his photo as the sun dappled on the grass around him.

I wondered if he were hurt and if that was why he was just sitting there.  After taking the photo, I sat nearby, observing him.  After about 20 minutes, he simply hopped away and then flew as if he had planned for us to have this little visit.  He never uttered a peep, but simply cocked his head in wonderment as I spoke to him.  I wondered what he was thinking.  Did he judge me for not noticing him in the grass when I walked by him?  Or did he wait for me to notice him so that I could be present with one of God’s creatures?  To me, whatever it was, it was a gift of nature for which I am grateful.

Many times I have had encounters with wildlife in my yard and in my life.  Birds quite frankly, are not a favorite of mine.  I had a hawk fly into my car and settle himself on the ledge of the passenger window IN THE CAR years ago.  That is a true story, unbelievable to recount except in person because the intensity of my fears gets lost in writing the story.  But the gist was that the hawk was chasing a sparrow who somehow flew into my car as I was putting something on the passenger front seat floor and the hawk came in right behind him.  The sparrow ended up in the back of my jeep (unbeknownst to me) as I was completely unaware except that as I closed the door, I felt something brush my arm.  It’s amazing to me that I was so lost in my own thoughts that day that I was completely detached from what was happening right where I was!  As I walked around the car, opened the driver’s side and slid into the seat in order to go home, I was stunned to see a full-sized hawk on my passenger side, holding tight to the ledge, his back to me, looking out the window.  I am not a bird lover in the least and I fear them, so imagine my fright!  I jumped out of the car immediately upon seeing the hawk and started screaming in the parking lot of the local hardware store (on New Year’s Eve day).  A man drove up next to me and I immediately ran to him stuttering that there was a bbbbiiiirrrdddd in my car and I needed his help!  He looked at me as if I had lost my mind completely.

The man calmly walked over to my car and opened the passenger front door.  The hawk stayed where he was.  The man tried to get the hawk to move, but the hawk stayed there, even though the door was now open and he could easily fly away.  After a few minutes, the man gently touched the hawk’s talons and he finally flew away.  My gratitude and relief was palpable.

The stranger patted my shoulder kindly and told me I could now go home.  I’m sure that when he went home to tell his family of the hawk in the lady’s jeep, they thought it was an incredible story.  But assured that the hawk was now not my co-pilot, I got back in my car, turned the ignition and one of my favorite holiday songs, Pachelbel Canon in D came on the radio.  As I listened to the soothing sounds, I took a deep breath and relaxed.

But not for long.

For as I put the car in reverse, looked behind me and began to back up, the little sparrow must have been startled and flew from the back to the front of my car, alighting on my head, his claws getting stuck in my hair which I had twisted up into a clip on the top of my head.  Immediately I screamed, threw the car into park and jumped out of the car.  I was jumping up and down, screaming now without any way to stop.  Thank goodness there were no other cars moving around the parking lot that day.

Because of the frenzy of my carrying on, a few men came out of the store.  I kept stuttering, There’s a bbbiiiirrrd in my car!  There was a hawk (hiccup) and now he’s gone but there was a bird in my hair!!!  The men looked at me, distraught blonde, over the edge in fear and anxiety and they laughed among themselves.  Just as I had each of them go to a door of my jeep, the original man came out of the store and took his spot by the trunk.  They opened all the doors of my jeep, checked inside and after a few minutes, deemed it bird free.  I am ever grateful for the kindness of strangers.

Again, I got back into the driver’s seat, blubbering, hyperventilating and incredulous as to what had just happened.  As I wiped my eyes, nose and face with a tissue, I took another deep breath to calm myself and calling a friend, I drove home slowly, birdless with an incredible tale for ages to come.

Has anything ever happened to you like this?  Please share as I’d love to hear your stories!

Shine On!

xo