Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2009 > October > 07 > Entry
Hawks in the ‘Hood
For the second year running, a family of hawks has made its home in our Central Austin neighborhood. Their presence tells us something about the human and non-human evolution of our town.
Clearly, the green, fecund, mostly residential character of our city favors species that had abandoned such haunts during my youth. Protection against threats like hunters probably helps. Personally, I find their presence thrilling.
To judge from our neighborhood’s message board, however, not everyone is pleased. Nobody weeps over the loss of a few grackles or rock doves (street pigeons), but area chickens and show pigeons have also been harassed. A similar discussion arose last year when foxes returned to our yards with sly intentions aimed at area poultry and pets.
These human/non-human contacts do not take on the high drama that attend coyotes hunting the hills and canyons of West Austin (although I saw one not two blocks east of downtown). Or the rare report of a mountain lion in the wilds of our preserves. Still, hawks are pretty efficient predators and the discussion will not go away.
They also play into the ongoing tension between those who want to preserve the almost rural character of our near-in neighborhoods and those who negotiate for more urban-style density. Despite what some readers presume, I do not take sides. I like nature close at hand. But I also abhor sprawl, traffic and freeway culture. Which means, I’m open to enlightened, pedestrian-friendly density.
If we are going to stay green, we’re going to attract hawks. I can live with that.
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By Sylvan
October 7, 2009 4:02 PM | Link to this
I personally love having the hawks, owls and foxes around. As Oscar Wilde once said, "It seems to me that we all look at nature too much and live with her too little."