strike proof
my presentation promotes trout safety
My son and I were hiking through a central NJ park two Sundays ago, bushwhacking down a tiny stream bed. As we were walking, we heard a hawk screeching above us. It got louder as we approached. When we rounded a bend, we saw a mature looking broadwing hawk on a bare branch above the stream, screeching regularly every few seconds. It was pretty clearly upset by our approach. It crapped, then flew to a tree about twenty feet away, continuing the screeching. My son and I climbed the bank and I pulled out my phone to try to get a picture of the hawk, still pretty close and on another bare branch. As I was pulling up my phone, a big (seriously big) red-tailed hawk came whipping through the trees and clobbered the broadwing. The broadwing tumbled through the air, collected itself before it hit the ground (had started about 30 feet up), and flew to another tree. The sound was amazing -- like a car door slamming. The red-tail flew to a different tree and kept staring in the direction of the broadwing, ignored us, stayed silent the entire time. The broadwing kept screaming. After a couple of minutes, the red-tail flew away, above the trees. The broadwing took off through the forest a few minutes later in another direction.
So, what the hell happened there? I wish I understood the backstory. Did we upset the broadwing, it sounded an alarm or warning call, and it attracted the red-tail? Did it see the red-tail originally, alarm accordingly, and got slammed anyway? Was there some kind of territorial or nest encroachment going on, and we were incidental?
Considering this is a fly-fishing site, I hiked the upper stream on the recommendation of one of the site members looking for trout. I saw a bunch of tiny fish (probably all dace), frogs, newts, crayfish (my first in this area). I did not see any of the brook trout rumored to live there, but I will hike a section further downstream next time. No fishing rods on us until fall, in case anyone is concerned. Not there to assassinate any native brookies.
So, has anyone else had a recent wildlife encounter that left him/her totally confused?
So, what the hell happened there? I wish I understood the backstory. Did we upset the broadwing, it sounded an alarm or warning call, and it attracted the red-tail? Did it see the red-tail originally, alarm accordingly, and got slammed anyway? Was there some kind of territorial or nest encroachment going on, and we were incidental?
Considering this is a fly-fishing site, I hiked the upper stream on the recommendation of one of the site members looking for trout. I saw a bunch of tiny fish (probably all dace), frogs, newts, crayfish (my first in this area). I did not see any of the brook trout rumored to live there, but I will hike a section further downstream next time. No fishing rods on us until fall, in case anyone is concerned. Not there to assassinate any native brookies.
So, has anyone else had a recent wildlife encounter that left him/her totally confused?