Learning on the Fly! By: Wes Tallyn

I had the pleasure last year of spending a couple of days observing a juvenile Red-Shouldered Hawk at Audubon Corkscrew Swamp.  I watched on two separate occasions where the adults would fly out of sight for a few minutes, only to return above, screaming and communicating back with the juvenile.   After a minute or so of giving out orders, the adults would position a freshly caught snake on a tree limb just below the canopy.  The juvenile would then swoop in to “catch” the staged prey.  The first time, the adults brought in a Banded Water Snake, and the second time, a Yellow Rat Snake.  Luckily, all of this happened so closely that I was able not only observe the whole scene but also to photograph the situation.  It just goes to show that getting outdoors can lead to unexpected and unbelievable life experiences if you just slow down and look around!