Up Close
Noel Laflin
2-20-20
A few years ago a beautiful hawk nearly flew into my car. Had he been just a few inches lower in trajectory, and had my window been rolled down just a bit more, well, I would have been wearing that fellow firmly impaled in the left side of my face.
You see, he was literally on the heels of a jackrabbit crossing a lonely stretch along a narrow canyon road. I came upon the chase while rounding a gentle curve. The rabbit was barreling across the two lane road, heading for thick brush against the hillside, and that hawk was about three feet behind him. I was fast approaching the sure-to-be nab when Jack dove into a protective bush a nanosecond ahead of outstretched talons.
Well, the hawk put on the wing brakes, flipped himself around in an amazing midair somersault and zoomed directly back my way as I passed by.
We stared at one another, that proud raptor and me, and like I said, had he miscalculated his rise by an inch or so, it would not have been pretty - window up or down.
But I got to tell ya, they are magnificent looking creatures up close.
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