New Neighbor????

So, about a week ago, I was outside hanging out the laundry and talking to my neighbor (who was overseeing repairs on his central a/c unit - it died on them on the first truly hot day of the summer!) and all of the sudden we saw *something* fall out of a tree and land between us. Turns out, it was a hawk - fairly large (crow-size or a little bigger) with a not-so-lucky bird (and not a little sparrow - a decent-size black bird!) in it's talons! It looked at us, readjusted the bird in it's clutches and flew away.

I thought our hawk-friend was a one-time deal, but then this weekend I found something right off our new patio. I think it's a hawk pellet (the fur, feather and bones that birds of prey don't digest - they cough it up about once a day).

Our Brownie troop had a wonderful time dissecting owl pellets during an overnight trip to our local zoo, so I had alittle experience dealing with pellets. The owl pellet was dry (and sanitized!) and the pellet I found was very dark and wet. I did a little research, and I am pretty sure this pellet belongs to my hawk friend. I am even thinking he may have been a red-tail hawk, since i read that they bite off pieces of prey (rather than eating them whole) and this pellet had very few whole bones in it.

I guess this means we have a new neighbor - one who is keeping the rodent and small bird population in check!