First of all, I'm very sorry to hear of Bob Church's tragedy.  It couldn't
have happened to a more devoted "parent."
 
On birds of prey, there have been a lot of excellent answers to this.  I'd
just like to add that there are redtailed hawks in this area, and while I
love to watch them wheel in the sky on a lazy summer day, I will NOT take
the fuzzits out, even on a leash, when they are out.  The leash won't help
if the bird grabs your kid, because the claws will crush before you can
pull him away, if you can.  There's no need to worry about this in the
city, and probably not in the subs.  But I'm very glad to say that I've
seen more and more birds of prey in rural areas here in Michigan, and you
bet they know how to hunt!
 
On a side note, if you're lucky enough to live in an area inhabited by bald
eagles, I was once given dinner by one.  We were doing archeological
fieldwork on a tiny island just off Kodiak, AK.  It was the last day, so we
worked until about 10 pm, when it was, of course, full daylight.  Exhausted
and famished, we began to walk along the beach back to our boat, looking
forward to a dinner of pilot bread and sardines--YUCK!  We had been
completely unsuccessful at catching salmon, even though they were gathering
in Natalia Bay the whole summer, leaping from the water, mocking our
ineptitude.  Well, this evening, my husband came around the corner of a
cliff on the beach and saw a huge brown shape looming before him.  He
immediately hollered, "Yo Bear!" (Our mantra, shouted loud and often, which
seemed mostly effective at keeping the monstrous kodiaks away).  Except it
wasn't a bear.  It was a HUGE bald eagle.  My husband had surprised him
landing an equally huge "dog" salmon.  This eagle saw my hubby, and spread
his wings to take off, but not altogether in as big a hurry as I'd like if I
were walking a mustelid on a leash, if you get my drift.  The salmon was
still flopping, though mortally wounded.  And he was DELICIOUS.
 
Anyway, this is one of the more memorable experiences of my life.  I like to
think that the ancestors were watching over us and mindful of our hunger
after we had been studying their houses and tools for all those weeks.  That
same night I saw two porpoises leaping and cavorting in the bay.  I never
was lucky enough to see a killer whale in the bay, but I digress...
 
Watch the skies when you're out in the country with your fuzzrats.
 
-Catherine
[Posted in FML issue 1691]