Who, Who, Who Goes There?

Despite the fact that I've spent a lot of time in the country, this is the first time that I've actually LIVED in the country. And I love it...because you just never know what type of wildlife you will hear or see. So far, I've been awoken in the middle of the night by a coyote howling what sounded like right underneath my window (a little too close, in my opinion). I've seen a variety of birds around the farm. A new experience, though, is hearing the owl in the woods behind our house. He usually gives his greeting about 2:30 or 3:00 am. I've heard him twice now and last night he was vocal enough that I got a really good listen to his call. Hosting the Master Naturalist classes, I knew what owls were common in our area, so I got online and we have a great horned owl. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Horned_Owl/id I'm very glad we don't have a screetch owl...their call isn't quite so welcoming.
Then, this morning, when I let Pepper out before I left for work...a red-tail hawk flew from the tree next to the barn and ambushed a flock of unsuspecting sparrows in one of our bushes. I just stood there and watched with my mouth hanging open as the birds went nuts trying to flee. I'm not sure if he got a bird or not- he eventually flew back up into the tree. Pepper, busy with other things, was completely oblivious to the mayhem taking place right behind her. One of the barn cats was laying in our driveway just feet from the scene and seemed frozen in place, sort of like I was.
Wonder what tonight will bring? (Hopefully no more coyotes!)