[Tweeters] Four Goshawk sightings in a fortnight!

[Gary Bletsch via Tweeters]

Dear Tweeters,
It's wonderful when birds "cooperate." I don't think I've ever had such a run of good luck in seeing Goshawks as I have enjoyed over the past month or so. It is an amusing manifestation of entropy, the way species that normally elude observation can suddenly start popping up here and there, almost to the point of appearing common!
The first Goshawk showed up in an open area, perched conspicuously on top of a shrub. Ten days later, in a suburban area, I saw another Goshawk, perched in a tree right behind a house. A few hours later, I saw yet another as it was soaring above a popular park. All three were adults.
Finally, four days afterwards, I spotted a juvenile Goshawk carrying prey. The prey item appeared to be a dove or pigeon. This bird flew into an area of dense brush, and seemed to disappear into the thicket, presumably to devour the prey in secure seclusion.
Wow!
Yours truly,
Gary Bletsch
PS Looking back over the above message, I realized that I neglected to state the locations of the above observations. The first bird, a Gabar Goshawk, was in Etosha National Park, Namibia. The second and third were Black Goshawks, one in Tokai Forest, Cape Town, the other a Black Goshawk at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. The last was an African Goshawk, also at Kirstenbosch. Sorry for any confusion--and it isn't even the first of April yet!

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