Hudson Hawk
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (122497)
Gainesville, Florida
September 23, 2022 6:03pm CST
In a recent discussion, myLot user @porwest talked about his warehouse cat Cal. At the time I read the discussion, I could not say that I have ever had a warehouse or work "pet," but that has changed this week.
As of this past Monday, it seems a beautiful hawk has taken up residence inside the receiving department of the home improvement company I work for. It seems to be very happy and content, at least for now, and doesn't easily get frightened by the forklifts, trucks and humans scurrying one way or another in our daily work routine. We have named it Hudson Hawk, after the 1991 American adventure comedy film of the same name.
We suspect that Hudson is here for one of two possible reasons. The first is that the large pine forest behind our store is currently being harvested for timber (it will be replanted after harvesting is completed). And secondly, we have a small bird infestation in our inside/outside garden center, and it appears to be easy pickings for Hudson when it gets hungry.
We enjoy having Hudson in our midst, but we know that it can't live with us in perpetuity. We've been leaving our three huge receiving bay doors open during the day in the hopes that Hudson will take advantage and fly out. But so far it has been content to just sit in the rafters and watch us.
We just hope Hudson doesn't get any crazy ideas to swoop down on us and claw our eyes out with his talons!
18 people like this
18 responses
@DaddyEvil (139947)
• United States
24 Sep 22
It's also possible that Hudson is also harvesting any mice that try to take up lodging in the warehouse, too. Once you run out of small birds in the garden center, you can start leaving him some meat scraps you bring in from home.
3 people like this
@DaddyEvil (139947)
• United States
25 Sep 22
@moffittjc When he finished off the small birds, wait a couple of days and see if you find any more carcasses of rats or mice and then bring him some meat scraps if he hasn't left the building yet.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Sep 22
I said the same thing. Right now he is feasting like a king on all the small birds in the store (it's not like there are tons of them, but they do make their way in from our garden center since we do keep the bags of birdseed inside the store). But once his supply of small birds dries up, he'll start tackling any mice or rats we have in our store (not that I think we have a lot of those, but it would be foolish to think we are completely rodent free).
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Sep 22
@DaddyEvil I thought about what would happen to Hudson after he's eaten all the small birds in the store. I even thought about the possibility of buying some live mice and setting them out for Hudson to "catch."
2 people like this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Sep 22
Hudson seems very content for now inside our store, probably because he's finding easy food in the little birds we have flying around. But eventually that food source will dwindle and he'll need to venture outside to keep hunting for food.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Sep 22
@RubyHawk It's not necessarily wide open, but we have two automatic doors in our garden center that can be accessed by birds, and we have three big roll-up doors in our receiving bay. Then there's also a big roll-up door in our lumber yard. So while not being totally wide open, there is still opportunity for birds and other animals to get in if they wanted to.
1 person likes this
@RubyHawk (99404)
• Atlanta, Georgia
24 Sep 22
@moffittjc The building must be very open if birds come in and fly around. The hawk will have plenty of food unless the birds learn to stay away.
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (91125)
• Arvada, Colorado
24 Sep 22
My nephew works for a furniture place and there is a resident hawk in the warehouse too.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
13 Oct 22
@RebeccasFarm Our hawk finally made his way back outside after about a week of being indoors.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Sep 22
Very interesting. I wonder how long that hawk has lived in the furniture warehouse?
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (37470)
• Toccoa, Georgia
24 Sep 22
That's a nice warehouse pet, I have heard stories from my husband and son who work in a home improvement store about the huge squirrels who hide up in the rafters of the warehouse.
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (37470)
• Toccoa, Georgia
25 Sep 22
@moffittjc okay, got to ask, where you live in Florida, is it in the path of that upcoming hurricane?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Sep 22
Raccoons are an ever popular nuisance in buildings, but so far I haven’t seen any evidence of them in my store.
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@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Sep 22
@LeaPea2417 Yes, we are in the cone. As of right now it looks like it will track a little west of where I live, although that puts me on the worst and most intense side of the hurricane.
1 person likes this
@porwest (95310)
• United States
25 Sep 22
That would certainly make for an amazing few days. Usually if birds enter our warehouse we generally try to shoot them if they don't leave on their own. But something like this would be entirely different. But yes, not sure if he may be friendly at some point, so best to probably let him be and go on his merry way. lol
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Sep 22
No one wants to get their eyes clawed out by his powerful talons and beak, so we have no intentions of trying to get close to him. He is friendly enough, but at a distance. And we're all perfectly fine with it staying that way.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Sep 22
@porwest I’d volunteer for that! I may not have a hand left afterward, but that’s beside the point.
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (203422)
• Nashville, Tennessee
24 Sep 22
How cool it must be to watch Hudson. I hope he is not injured in any way. Is there a state park nearby? Maybe you could call a wildlife ranger to at least check on him to make sure he is well. I know he is beautiful. Maybe he just likes hanging out with you all. Any idea why type of hawk it is?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Sep 22
There are numerous state parks nearby, and our store is located in a very rural area that is heavily wooded. We have called several animal control specialists around the area, and it doesn't seem like any of them are in any hurry to come help. Probably because it would be very difficult to actually capture Hudson and remove it from the store.
I'm not sure what type of hawk it is. It is a grayish white, and quite large. In fact, it's the largest hawk I have ever seen. Almost all of the hawks in our area are more of the darkish brown variety, such as red-shouldered and red-tailed hawks.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Sep 22
@CarolDM Hudson is definitely safe inside our store, but obviously he/she can't stay there forever. We know the hawk is eating, as we've found small piles of feathers and remains of small birds inside the store (lots of small finches and wrens frequently find their way into our store). We mostly worry about hydration, so we started leaving out bowls of water for Hudson.
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (203422)
• Nashville, Tennessee
24 Sep 22
@moffittjc Oh I see. Just wondered. Seems to be safe, that is a good thing.
1 person likes this
@xstitcher (33091)
• Petaluma, California
29 Oct 22
Whoa. Pretty cool.
I remember seeing sparrows and birds like that flying around in the rafters when Mom and I shopped at Costco.
1 person likes this
@xstitcher (33091)
• Petaluma, California
29 Oct 22
@moffittjc They're probably all in there hiding from Hudson.
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@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Oct 22
Well, ever since the hawk made its way back outside into the wild, we've noticed the amount of small birds in the store start increasing again. Maybe we need to invite Hudson back on a monthly basis to clear the store of annoying little birds!
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Oct 22
@xstitcher We all said the same thing! Plus, they have ample food supply when they find the busted open bags of bird seed.
1 person likes this
@Juliaacv (52026)
• Canada
24 Sep 22
Hudson must be beautiful to see in person, it would brighten up my work day for sure.
What would make a hawk return to its natural habitat, the call of another hawk?
You should try to find hawk sounds and see if someone could draw him out and then maybe he will see where he should be, he could be lost.
1 person likes this
@Juliaacv (52026)
• Canada
24 Sep 22
@moffittjc Maybe you should take up a collection for hearing aids for Hudson.
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@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Sep 22
We actually had one of our associates do that. She went on her phone and searched for hawk calls, and she set her phone by the open receiving bay doors and turned the volume up and played the hawk sounds. Hudson just sat there up in the rafters and acted like he didn't hear anything! lol
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (472433)
• Switzerland
24 Sep 22
@moffittjc He is enjoying staying there for the moment.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Sep 22
@LadyDuck As long as he is happy and safe, he is welcome to stay as long as he wants.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Sep 22
He appears to be very healthy, and looks in fine shape when he flies around. There doesn't appear to be any visible injuries, and we know from the amount of small feathers and tiny bird carcasses we keep finding around the store that he is eating well.
2 people like this
@Tampa_girl7 (51133)
• United States
1 Oct 22
I guess that he likes his new home.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
1 Oct 22
He finally made it back outside, right before the hurricane was supposed to hit. We all joked that he had really bad timing. But fortunately, the storm didn't hit us and we had relatively few impacts in our area.
Interestingly, we have seen and heard Hudson flying around in the back of our store. I can peak out the back door and/or look out our receiving bay doors and see him flying around above us. I'm convinced now that he has been displaced from his natural home in the forest out behind our store, because they have been clear-cutting the land to start a new housing development. It's weird knowing that nationally there is a big housing cooldown going on right now due to inflation and rising interest rates, but locally we are experiencing a huge building boom. Most of the contractors I have been talking to have been saying that their business is exploding with people who are paying cash for their houses. I guess those people have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the housing cooldown to happen, and now they're buying and building houses.
@RasmaSandra (82058)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
24 Sep 22
How wonderful and welcome to Hudson. I would like to see this handsome and mighty hawk.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Sep 22
He (or she) is one of the largest hawks I have ever seen. Such a beautiful bird. I told my boss we should let Hudson live inside the store permanently to keep the small bird and mice population in check. He agreed, but brought an interesting point in that it would all be fun and good until Hudson decides to swoop down and grab a small dog from one of our unsuspecting customers. We have dozens of customers at any given time who shop in the store with their dogs.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (82058)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
24 Sep 22
@moffittjc can you leave something for Hudson to eat each day?
Hawks are birds of prey, which means they are carnivores that dine on carrion (dead animals) or animals in which they hunt. Hawks diets mainly consist of birds, lizards, mice, rabbits, rats and snakes. Mostly, hawks live in open areas like deserts and fiel
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Sep 22
@RasmaSandra He is eating plenty of small birds that somehow make their way into our store from our garden center. We've already found piles of feathers and remains of small birds, so we know Hudson is eating well. We've been leaving out bowls of water, because if anything we worry that he won't be getting enough fluids.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Sep 22
Yes, he has not left the building since he first arrived.
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@TheHorse (222303)
• Walnut Creek, California
24 Sep 22
@moffittjc Does he have family?
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@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Sep 22
@sol_cee No, I have never been a hawk’s mate before.
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@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Sep 22
Hudson could be a female, we're not entirely sure. But it appears it is the only hawk in the building. It would be funny though if we showed up for work on Monday morning and found that Hudson's mate showed up.
1 person likes this
@sol_cee (38219)
• Philippines
24 Sep 22
@moffittjc how sweet would that be. Have you ever done something like that? Lolll
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (183852)
• United States
24 Sep 22
Hudson may be seeking refuge; but it's not in the best place. I wonder where he's getting water?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Sep 22
We have been leaving out bowls of water throughout the store in the hopes that he is finding them and drinking from them. Hawks are very smart birds, he'll find a water source when he gets thirsty.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Sep 22
@LindaOHio All of us at work are looking out for him. Everyone wants to see him stay safe and healthy.
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@LindaOHio (183852)
• United States
25 Sep 22
@moffittjc I'm glad you're looking out for him.
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@snowy22315 (184376)
• United States
24 Sep 22
Hudson has taken up residence, but maybe one day when you least expect it, he will leave.
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@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Sep 22
I was thinking the same thing. It will be one of those things where we leave the receiving bay doors open every day for him to fly out, but he'll wait and one day when they're closed, will fly or walk out one of the regular doors or something. Basically, I expect him to do what we least expect him to do.
@jstory07 (141305)
• Roseburg, Oregon
13 Oct 22
I hope Hudson Hawk will be good and not attack anyone. That would not be good at all.
@wolfgirl569 (110568)
• Marion, Ohio
24 Sep 22
He has easy food so in no hurry to leave.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Sep 22
That's what I was thinking. He has no reason to even want to leave, he is eating like a king right now. His only incentive to leave will be when the food source dries up.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122497)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Sep 22
As long as the hawk is not hurting customers or destroying our merchandise, we'll probably just leave it be and let it do its thing. My worry is that eventually he'll eat all the small birds that have somehow made their way inside our store through the garden center, and then his food source will dry up. I think that's going to be the determining factor of when he decides to leave.
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