Hawk With A Meadow Vole
Hawk With A Meadow Vole (Assabet Parking Lot)
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I spent an afternoon after school with two friends. We decided to go to Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge, because we were trying to avoid doing what we usually do, which is to drive around random neiborhoods for 3 hours. We weren't looking very closely for wildlife, mainly because all 3 of us were sharing a camera. We passed by the massive norway maple near puffer pond, starting to drop its orange leaves. It looks totally different from how it did back in August...
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October 21st August 31st
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When we eventually made it back to winterberry road, we came out to a parking lot and nature center. Power cables and poles ran down the road, and parking lot. I noticed a red tailed hawk perched on a pole...
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The hawk sat there for a few minutes, while we photographed him. My friends and I were sharing the camera, and arguing about settings. The hawk launched itself off it's perch, and tucked in its wings. Bam. It went for a spot in the tall grass and disappeared. Unfortunately, we got no flight shots. I approached the spot, trying to get a visual on the hawk. I accidentally flushed it out from the grass. It didn't have anything in it's talons. It spent about 5 more seconds on the pole, before making a second attempt. It pulled into a fast dive and... Success.
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I can't tell for sure what the prey item was, but judging by the short tail, it's a vole, not a mouse. Probably a meadow vole. The hawk didnt waste any time...
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...and once it had consumed its kill, it took off down Winterberry Way, flew about 100 feet, and then turned, dispearing into the woods. We tried finding it again, but couldn't. We did find a few turkeys, though. I always see turkeys on winterberry way.
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...I also saw a few insects on the road...
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Fork-Tailed Bush Katydid
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...and then we headed back to the car.
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