11-29-2014

I was bringing an airline crew of four passengers back from Terminal I on early Saturday afternoon. A half mile west of the Lindbergh, a buteo hawk was hunting or feeding on the edge of the highway, barely into the grass. I was driving about 55 miles per hour. The hawk panicked and tried to fly across the road in front of me, just as I was passing it.

The broad-winged hawk flew across at about four feet off the ground. I pumped real hard on the brakes to avoid having the bird smash into the front grille of the bus. He just missed the grille and made it safely to the ditch on the other side.

The sudden jolt must have torqued off the crew. They did not say anything, but I am convinced they have a coded glance or look that communicates to each other, not to tip the driver if he has offended them in some way. Usually I make $4/ run. The captain gave me a dollar, but the other crew members did not, and were rather cool towards me back at the hotel. The co-pilot that did not tip was one  I later took to Mall Of America and he was still frosty, and we have never met before. If I lost a small tip to save the hawk, and not damage the shuttle, it was worth it.

Later I watched the same hawk descend from a tree 15 feet above and gently, silently land on some rodent, probably a mouse, in the grass.

Later that day I saw him again 1 & 1/2 miles west of there, deep in urban territory hunting in the grass on 494 between Bloomington and Richfield.

We often see red-tailed hawks and bald eagles here along the free ways, but to see this much smaller buteo, with very different size dimensions and quite different hunting demeanor in Minnesota, at -20 degree windchill in winter, was fun and uncommon.