There is a terrible majesty to hawks, @dbooster... I remember, well, when a young hawk snatched one of my pigeons off the eggs she was sitting on, how upset I was. Mama pigeon had put up a noble fight, refusing to leave her baby-to-be, so the hawk had to dig his talons into her back and fly off with her, leaving a mess of feathers strewn across my balcony floor.

I rushed out to collect the still warm eggs, and the showdown with the hawk remains emblazoned on my mind. No sooner had I returned inside the house, and shut the balcony glass door, the hawk was back to collect the eggs and clearly displeased to see them cupped in my hands...

For what seemed like a short eternity, this fierce-looking creature stared me down, yellow eyes glowing. I admit to experiencing a strong mixture of of fear and awe --- like I was confronting a winged tiger!

Then, as if in slow motion, the hawk turned away from me with a kind of regal disinterest, leaned into the air, and returned to the sky he came from.