HATTIESBURG AMERICAN (Mississippi) 03 December 10 Hawk bit off more than it could chew (Phil DiFatta)

"Wow! That’d be one heck of a fine meal,” the hawk must have thought to himself when it spied a fat rattlesnake about 4-feet long beside or crossing a dim woods road.

Apparently, though I can’t say for sure, the big red-tailed hawk was flying merrily along one day looking for prey, when suddenly it spotted the snake. “I’ll swoop down like the bad dude I am and nail this sucker,” the big hawk must have figured. “Then I’ll eat ‘til I bust.”

But the rattler had other ideas, like saving its own diamond-patterned skin. So it must have injected a pretty potent dose of venom into the bird. And when my son and daughter-in-law spotted the critters while walking into their respective deer stands, the hawk was swaying about, having a tough time standing on its own two feet. Kinda’ like a drunk holding on to the bar while trying to act cool.

Not having any clue as to what they could do for the hawk to try and save it, Daniel called me and I contacted an authoritative source, Mr. Randy Browning, a U.S. Fish & Wildlife biologist (of sorts). Browning’s an old friend (though I hate to admit it), and he said the best thing to do was to let nature take its course.

So they did. By the time the morning hunt was over the next day, the big hawk had managed to eat more of the snake, approximately half, Daniel said. But by then the hawk was very dead. The hawk had, obviously, bitten off more than it could chew.

I had hoped to have photo proof of the spectacle, but cell phone pictures by Dayvi and Daniel, plus digital camera photos by the landowner’s daughter, Kim Eubanks, all had no contrast whatsoever, and my bad eyes couldn’t discern the snake from the hawk or the surroundings. Photoshop may be able to help, and if it does, I’ll be happy to add the pictures to a future column.

Regardless, the next time someone tells you not to “bite off more than you can chew,” you might wanna listen.
Hawk bit off more than it could chew

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