Observer: Eloise Bacher
Date: 25 October, 2008
Time: 1149-1235
Location: The back porch of my house.
Weather: Windy, sunny, about 50 degrees F.
One of the hawks is out, to the west, soaring and playing in the wind. It’s always easy to tell when there’s something coming in off the coast because the hawks will be pulling all sorts of crazy stunts over the valley. They even hover in one place, and we can never figure out how they do it. Presumably by moving their wings or feathers just right, or being in the right place in the air. There are clouds massing beyond the coast range, but it’s unclear whether it will come our way or go north. Now it seems to have had enough of playing; it’s landed in a cedar tree just to the west of our house and is staring down at the ground, maybe looking for food. Lots of gophers and mice run around there; s/he might get lucky.