Spoiled Dinner!

About a year ago, I went outside to play with Willow our dog, and I saw all the chickens running scared into the chicken house. I went down to check and see why the chickens where so afraid. When I got down to the chicken house, I looked around and saw nothing right away.

I was about to turn around and go back to the house, when I saw a red-tailed hawk fly from the ground in the orchard. Red-tailed hawks are common throughout Illinois and especially here at Providence Prairie. A hawk can fly at a speed of 45 mph. Then I knew why the chickens were so scared! I ran down to the bottom of the orchard, and there lying on the ground was one of our white roosters, dead. Hawks eat snakes, birds, mammals, lizards, and chickens. I thought he must have been out hunting and decided to have our white rooster for dinner!

I think red-tailed is one of the prettiest hawks. It has a cream-colored chest and a dark-red tail. A red-tailed hawk can weigh up to four pounds and can grow a wingspan to 25 inches.  That is almost two feet long!  I really like the red-tailed hawk, even if they do get chickens. Without the hawk we would have a lot of mice getting into everything.   

~Jonah