Hi Jane and Tweets,

It is rather amazing that someone wouldn't know that raptors eat meat, but
my only comment is in regard to your mentioning that the red-tailed hawk
could take your neighbor's kitten. I have found that the less said about
raptor prey items to people unfamiliar with raptors, the better. Much of
the uproar and persecution against hawks, especially, has been that "all"
of them raid chicken houses, etc., etc., etc. We all know that most
species don't do that and of the ones that might have a bit of propensity
for fowl, it's usually an individual bird that performs these raids.

In this day and age of so much suburbia, I usually liken the puppies and
kittens of our neighborhoods to the chicken pens of the olden days and keep
quiet about raptor diet possibilities. Again, it's usually an individual
that gets a taste for a domestic pet, or, more probably, the fact that that
pet is just running about at opportune times. Food is food to a raptor.
There is still a bit of fear and resentment in some circles against raptors
(scavengers, too) so perhaps the less said about some situations is the
best (for the raptor). Just my opinion. I don't tell where nests are,
either, for the same reasoning.

Cheers, Diann

Diann MacRae
Bothell
tvulture at halcyon.com