Lights shining all around
Bells jingling in the town
Moms, dads and kids run around for Christmas decor and
Holiday so profound
Christmas carols and holiday songs bring the cheer on every crown.
Gifts exchanged, trees lit up, halls decked, and tables set up
With friends and family merry-making everyone excited in a happy setting
Hal the harrier hawk circles around the fresh air in South America, preparing its 6000-mile flight home to America. It lands back into its homeland after a journey of 5 long and tiring days. It spots an abandoned nest to rest in for the night. The next day Hal goes out to hunt for food. After a few hours it sees its victim the ground squirrel.
The two enemies make direct eye contact. Then in a split second the prey yells out “you can’t catch me!” and at the same time the hawk had picked its supper and was trying to kill it in mid air. It land just in time before night comes.
WHERE THEY LIVE!
Hawks live in a variety of places. Most hawks live in both hot and cold places like Alaska, Canada, Arizona, and California. Many hawks migrate to Southern countries in the winter to stay away from the harsh weathers back in their homelands. Harrier hawks make their nests in tall reeds and tall grasses. The spotted Harrier is one of the only Harrier hawks that make its nest on a tree. Hawks are very sneaky by making their nests in unusual places where most predators would not think to come.
Adaptations
Many hawks can live in different climates and habitats, like hawks from Alaska can easily adapt to the weather in South America. Most hawks will do whatever to protect themselves and their family.
One example is when a hawk had no roof; it wrapped itself with its own wings. After the storm the hawk unveiled itself to turn out that it was dry besides its wings. Any kind of weather and climate that might be extreme a hawk will be able to survive in it just enough so it can find a new home and a place to build in order to start a family.
Types of Hawks
There are 17 different types of hawks that live in North America. These include Goshawks, Harrier hawks, and Red-tailed hawks. The most common type of hawk is the Harrier. Most of the time female hawks are bigger than their counterparts. Female hawks are more aggressive when it comes to protecting her eggs. Most of the time females can lay 4-5 eggs at once for one time. Hawks usually come together to help, hunt, and protect each other. These days there are less and less hawks because of traps. In a few years they will be in the endangered list.
Eating Habits
All species of hawks are carnivores. They each scraps of meat from dead seals that have been killed by polar bears in the Polar Regions. In North America their preys are badgers, deer, and ground squirrels. In South America they rely on everything that most hawks eat in North America along with rabbits and grasshoppers.
Hawks hunt in packs of five to eight family members.
Most hawks share their food with each other.
Characteristics
Different types of hawks have different characteristics but some general features of them are as follows:
· A bony ridge between their eyes to give a fierce look.
· Hawks have a third eyelid to protect their eyes from dust.
· Lastly hawks have talons to pick their prey up and kill them.
All these characteristics make Hawks unique in the bird family.
Flying Facts
· The smallest hawk in North America is the sharp-shinned hawk.
· The northern Harrier is always mistaken for an owl.
· Hawks are always a dull color like brown, black, and gray.
Hawks hold a special place in the animal kingdom as they help our environment by catching rodents that we try to get rid of by using poison and other chemicals. The rodents we think that are annoying are prey for them which works out for both hawks and humans. Even though you see and hear about hawks doesn’t mean that they won’t become extinct if we don’t care of them.
In order to preserve these kings of the sky we should not kill or hunt for them.
VOCABULARY Victim- The prey of a predator. Counterparts- The spouse of another. Carnivore – Animals that eat only meat.
Why?
The most powerful word to most. Why this? Why That? Why? Why? Why? This one word stands out better then the others as it gets you to think beyond your imagination. You must by wondering why I wrote this article. Well here is the reason. These days after your homework you go on the computer or go outside. What 95% of you don’t do is sit down in your room or a place you like and think about the things happening around us. Why? Simple explanation. You don’t try to think you can do something like some famous person that motivates you. In this article I will get you to think about something you have never really taken a lot of thought to. So here is the question:
Why are there new Diseases evolving every now and then?
