Beautiful hawk … IF he were NOT stalking my dogs and killing wildlife in our yard.

Far, far too close for comfort. But at least - on this occasion - he was more than just a foot away like he was during our first encounter. The roof here is only 12 feet above the ground. Even with my backing off with the zoom, this image is full frame.

When he got bored with watching people guard his subject of interest (our dogs), the hawk went back over to our neighbor's and took out another songbird at their feeder. This hawk is definitely very well fed.

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After I got the above photo, this hawk later came back to again check out our dogs; even with both my husband & I standing within inches of them when they were outside to go potty. This behavior has been going on for several weeks now.

Sadly, I have more than one, very close acquaintance, Chihuahua owner who has lost a beloved pet to an unexpected hawk attack; even with the owner present. Their tales have been so sad and so horrifying. Thus, I am well aware of how dangerous hawks can be for small dogs. After the one (probably the one above) went after Bella just a few days ago, I've been very much on edge.

Because hawks are protected by the federal government, there is nothing that can be done about this hawk harassing us. It is illegal to even pick up a hawk feather (naturally shed by the hawk) if you would happen to find one on the ground. That is subject to a $15,000 fine. Harming a hawk - no matter what the hawk does - is punishable by both double digit thousands of dollars in fines; plus also time in prison.

Because of out-of-control, deadly COVID in our area, we humans are now more or less prisoners of our own home & property. Now because of a hawk that kills for sport, our dogs (who love to spend time outdoors) have also become prisoners. They now must be confined inside the house; except for very brief times outside to relieve themselves; while we stand guard to protect them.

Before the hawk showed up, the dogs being outside with me on the deck were my comfort and stress reliever. From baby puppies to very old senior citizens, our dogs have always been previously "safe" on our deck until now. We've lived here for over 25 years.

These are very trying times now.

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COVID Update:

At least, one local "teen party" got in the news https://www.kctv5.com/coronavirus/large-lee-s-summit-gathering-leads-to-mass-covid-19-testing/article_13946a40-d050-11ea-a75d-47a0fe26b1cd.html

Frankly, I don't understand why people are having parties like this during a pandemic, but it's been going on in our neighborhood. Not all party goers from other parties are getting tested like the one in the article above. Unfortunately, the other parties may also be helping to spread coronavirus. Stats are way up in our county.