Birds of Prey

The number of species of birds of prey is very small in this area, consisting of only eight families. Still, there are just enough to keep the mouse, snake, worm, chipmunk and squirrel populations to a minimum so that they don't take over homes and yards. These birds are not only helpful to people, but they are also very beautiful and graceful in flight, or perched on tree branches or telephone lines. In this area you can often see a Hawk perched on a telephone wire or an Eagle circling in flight over its future prey. Eagles have just recently come to the area after being on the endangered species list. A few years ago it was considered to be a very exciting day if an Eagle was spotted in the area. In the summer that the first few were seen, they were talked about for some time. The next year, more were observed and numbers have since continued to increase.

Predators are necessary to every ecological system, though some people do not give them as much credit for their contributions as they should. Just as long as they don't start preying on us we will leave them to themselves.